Hetze
by Sarcastic Proserpine
Summary: AU- Teachers aren't supposed to develop feelings for their students. Deidara knew. He knew and yet he fell in love. And now both he and Hyuga Hinata have to pay a heavy price for it.
1. Lesson nr I

_**Hetze**_

* * *

**Summary: **_Teachers aren't supposed to develop feelings for their students. Deidara knew. He knew and yet he fell in love. And now both he and Hyuuga Hinata have to pay a heavy price for it._

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Naruto. For me sad but true, and it's lucky for you._

* * *

**Lesson nr. I**

He stared at the phone.

Maybe it would go away if he just glared long enough at it.

Yeah.

The damn thing would disappear into thin air, and then he would be good for a little while longer. Just until she would be standing in front of his door, demanding to open it and asking why the fuck he didn't answer her calls.

He sighed. _'Deidara, you are in deep shit.' _And with that he slowly leaned forward, snitched his cell phone from the table and after hesitating he dialed the number. It ringed a few times before someone answered.

"_Yeah?"_

Hearing only her voice was enough to send him into the deepest bottom of Hell again. A sweatdrop traveled down the side of his head and he gulped before he spoke.

"Tayuya. It's me, hmm."

"_Deidara? Why the hell are you calling?! You know I'm working right now, asshole!"_

Another gulp. "I know, but I have something... important to say."

He could clearly hear her cynical laugh throughout the earpiece. _"It better be important, yeah. Or you can expect a kick under your fuckin' ass soon enough."_

He was used to the profanities she always shouted. But it was about to get a whole lot worse. "I... have taken up the offer."  
_  
_Silence.

"Errr... Tayuya. Are you still there, hmm?"

"_What the __**fuck**__ did you just say?!"_

_  
_"...I said I..."

"_No fuckwad, I heard you! But why? __**Why**__ did you take that goddamn offer, Deidara?!" _

_  
_He sighed again before running a hand through his blonde hair. No use trying to calm her. "Because I wanted to."

It sounded childish, even to him. And maybe it had kind of been the wrong thing to say. Out of precaution the hand that was holding his cell phone went a little further away from his ear. The voice that was Tayuya sounded strangely calm. Not a good sign.

_"Because you wanted to. You. Wanted. To."_

_  
_Before he could say anything else (mainly apologizing or at least trying to), his girlfriend continued in that icily chilling voice: "_You know what, mister I-have-my-head-shoved-so-deep-up-my-ass-I-can-smell-the-pyrosis, you just fucking go and take that fucking job all the way in fuckin' __**Tokyo**__! But you won't see me no more. Good-__**bye. **_BEEP-BEEP-BEEP..."

He stared at the phone. She had hung up.

She had hung up on him.

And she was gone.

He groaned loudly before letting himself fall back again, phone clattering onto the floor with a thud. He didn't bother to pick it up.

It had to be done. He knew. He knew but it still hurt.

Fuck.

**Fuck.**

* * *

"Hinata." The voice that called for her sounded serious. He was worried for her. Again.

Lavender eyes looked up shyly. "Y-Yes?" Inwardly she smacked herself. The stutter was still there. She had practiced so hard, but it hadn't disappeared. Maybe it had something to do with...

"Sasuke-teme bothered you again? Be honest with me." Her childhood friend Inuzuka Kiba looked intently at her, dark eyes boring into hers to force an honest answer out of her.

At the mention of the name of the person that she feared so much her eyes were cast down again, staring to the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Kiba thought that he heard a soft sigh. His hand reached up slowly, hovering above her head before he suddenly ruffled the raven locks, messing up her perfectly combed hair. She gave a yelp and shot up, small hands attempting to get his larger one away. "K-Kiba-kun..!"

A small grin appeared on his lips. "Sorry Hina, but I won't let you get away that easily."

She smiled swiftly before it faded as soon as it had came. An almost invisible frown appeared. Kiba saw it, though. He listened to her lies, desperate attempts to let him stop worry about her.

"No, S-Sas-Sasuke-san didn't d-do anything...Please d-don't worry, okay?" Her face was straight, but inwardly she felt the old twist returning once again. She hated lying, especially to her friends. But she hated it even more when she made people worried. They shouldn't. Not for her.

Kiba didn't mention the fact that with the name Sasuke her stutter had worsened ten-volt, even more than she used to do around her old crush Uzumaki Naruto. He knew her. He knew that she was lying. His fist clenched.

_That damn bastard._

Why couldn't he leave her alone? Why couldn't he hunt down some other woman? That Haruno girl seemed willingly enough.

If only he could do something. He wanted to beat that Uchiha up so badly, but Hinata wouldn't let him. She was afraid he would get into trouble since Uchiha Itachi, the even-more famous brother of Sasuke, held a highly important rank at the police.

But if it continued like this, he was going to take action. Fuck Uchiha Itachi. Hinata was far more important to him than his own record.

His train of thoughts was interrupted by the source of his worries who was currently glancing up at him, curious why he was so far away. He grinned again.

"Sorry Hina-chan. I was just thinking." She didn't ask about what. She knew that he knew. Neither continued their conversation from before. He didn't dare. She didn't want to.

Kiba shot a look at his watch, mainly to escape from the tense silence. "Oi. Let's go." He reached his hand out to her. "Class is starting soon and Shino and the rest are probably already waiting for us."

The girl smiled genuinely for the first time. "All right, Kiba-kun." She took his hand and was pulled up from the bench she was sitting on. "Ah...What c-class do we have right now?" she thought aloud.

Face scrunched up in disgust, he answered sourly for her. "Our favorite subject."

"You don't mean Maths, right?" Looking pleadingly at him, Hinata prayed that he was joking. However, Kiba nodded. "Yeah. Sadly enough, I'm not kidding."

Her face fell. "C-Crap."

Upon hearing the muttered profanity, Kiba's look of abhorrence was replaced by one of surprise. "I'm not sure I heard that right. Did you just _swear_, Hina?"

As he saw her slapping her hand for her mouth and becoming as red as a tomatoe, he smirked widely. "C'mon, let's get going. Anko-sensei doesn't like it when you're late. You of all people should know."

She nodded and immediately sped up, not wanting to be tardy. Mitarashi Anko could be quite… harsh when a student came in too late. Kiba walked behind her, deciding he wouldn't press the Uchiha-issue any further today.

For now.

* * *

He stared around.

The apartment seemed no longer his.

Technically speaking that was the actual truth since he hadn't paid his rent for a few months, but now it was just an empty space, void of any human touch. Most of his stuff was already on their way to Tokyo, and soon he would follow.

But the only thing that was on his mind right now, was the woman he had left so cruelly. A tired sigh escaped his lips.

It was true.

The love had never been there. He had known it all along, deep down. But he had been content with the way they were. She was there and so was he, and that was enough.

Routine.

It felt safe at first, but after a while it became... boring. Just an every-day happening.

Boredom is something an artist hates with a passion.

So he had looked. Had searched for something different. He had asked around. And then that invitation came. From a high school in Tokyo. They had difficulty in finding a new Chemistry teacher after their last one had suddenly become sick and bed-ridden. Somehow, it had sounded right. He accepted. He went for a meeting, to get a job interview with the principal.

They had offered him the job.

He had taken it.

One look on his watch told him the taxi would be there soon. He closed the door and walked away, carelessly tossing the keys in the mailbox of his lessor in the process.

He hadn't left a note behind for Tayuya. He felt like a bastard.

He _was _a bastard. A cowardly one at that.

But he was out of here. Finally. Somehow Tayuya seemed far away now.

He walked over to the cab; the driver flashed a professional taxi-driver's smile at him and asked if he was the one that had ordered a taxi. The blonde just nodded and got in.

Deidara didn't look behind to see the fading city for the last time. Although it wasn't that far from Tokyo, he already knew he wouldn't come back.

Not willingly, at least.

The drive was silent, safe for the driver asking him random things every now and then, and muttered answers from the artist.

In two days he would begin on Konoha High school. As a teacher in Chemistry.

A smirk broke through. Deidara wondered how it would be. He had never taught a class full of horny teenagers the fine rules of substances and their many characteristics, let alone get them to work. From what he still knew of his high school days, being a teacher is an ungrateful job. Especially in Chemistry. Most people just didn't understand the concept of it all. He took it that most teenagers didn't, either. Let alone wanted to.

But it would be fine. He could handle himself.

No problemo.

* * *

She let out a small giggle before poking him once again.

He yawned loudly before turning his head from whatever dared to bother him in his well-needed nap and continued sleeping, every now and then mumbling something incoherent.

He truly reminded her of another lazy person that thought that sleeping was the only remedy for the dull monologue of their History teacher. She slightly prodded her head to the right and saw that the afore-mentioned person, Nara Shikamaru, was also sleeping soundly, much to the annoyance of his girlfriend Yamanaka Ino. Her blue eyes were currently boring a hole in his head and she was shaking his shoulder, but either he didn't notice, or more likely, he ignored her.

Hinata turned her head back to the teacher and gasped when she saw that the man was staring right at Kiba. She shuddered slightly. Hatake Kakashi was a mellow person, but if someone dared to sleep, eat, talk or doing something else that he as a teacher couldn't tolerate, he could be quite harsh. She reached out an arm and shook her friend another time, whispering his name in a panicked tone.

"K-Kiba…"

As expected, he didn't respond. Others seemed to notice their classmate now, snorting silently as they waited for a small riot to break out. She felt the eyes of her teacher resting on her now and knew that if she didn't do something quick, Kiba would have detention for the second time that week. Something that his mother wouldn't appreciate.

"Kiba!"

He shot up, dazedly looking around before he realized he was still in class and that his teacher was currently staring at him with a look that clearly told that he wouldn't get off without a scratch this time.

"Inuzuka…"

"Ohh, you're screwed now, dude!" Uzumaki Naruto whispered not-so-softly from behind. He grinned widely as Kiba glared dangerously at him before turning back and sighing loudly. "Yeah yeah, I know. 'Stay after class because I want to speak a word or to with you', right?"

Kakashi put on a feigned surprised face. "Well Inuzuka, I've never known that you were a psychic! Maybe if you could tell me if I will finally get that promotion I've been waiting for, I'll consider letting this pass."

Laughter erupted as Kiba blushed slightly from embarrassment before firing back a cocky answer. "I'm not sure about that, Sir. But the spirits do have unraveled to me that the date that you're having soon won't have a happy ending."

The laughter went even louder but died down abruptly as soon as the ominous aura of their teacher was suddenly felt in the entire room. Hinata winced. This wasn't going to end very well…

**End of Lesson nr. I**

* * *

**A/N: All right… Well, that was chapter one. I really wanted to make a DeiXHina for a change since it is my utmost fave crack pairing. n.n There's nothing much going on right now, but I promise that'll change soon. I rated it 'M' for a reason… -grins- Anyway, uhmm… Please review? Of course constructive criticism is okay (very appreciated actually), but please, no flames to tell me how much you hate this pairing and that Hinata's destined to be with Naruto or something like that. I'm a fragile person, un! n.n**


	2. Lesson nr II

_**Hetze**_

* * *

**Lesson nr. II**

"What the fuck, man! That asshole! Detention for -_three_- days! How could I know that he's got a date with Mitarashi tonight!"

Hinata sighed softly as she listened to the ranting of her friend. She didn't dare to tell that it was a well-known fact that Kakashi-sensei had been after Anko-sensei for a while now, and since he was a not-too-subtle person when it came to persuading, the rest of the school knew it too. Except for Kiba, who sometimes was as thick-headed as a coconut shell.

She tensed as she suddenly felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, but looking to her left she relaxed as it was only Kiba, who was currently glancing at her in an almost sad way. Her eyes widened a little from the surprise and she was about to open her mouth, but Kiba already answered her unasked question.

"I'm really sorry Hina, but that asswipe decided that detention should start today. So… I won't be able to walk home with you." He sounded angry.

Hinata slowly felt the knot in her stomach returning, weighing heavy and making her nauseous. Kiba saw it on her face as he quickly tried to soothe her. "Hey, but don't worry! I can call Shino or something…"

She hid the worry with a smile. "Ah, d-don't worry, Kiba-kun. Wh-Where could I be a-afraid of? I can walk home a-alone…It's just that I-I like walking h-home with you. It's more… f-fun…" the girl trailed of lamely, cringing inwardly at the pathetic attempt to lie. She hoped he would buy it… The fake smile didn't fade as she shifted her eyes from his eyes to the wall behind him and back to his face, twirling strands of dark hair around her finger in a nervous manner. She couldn't look at him directly. She wasn't able to.

Kiba wanted to hug her as he saw her stumbling over her own words, telling her that it was all right and that she didn't have to lie to him because he knew. He couldn't, though. It would break her even more. She didn't want anyone to worry over her, because she thought she was nothing.

He had tried it many times, telling her that she wasn't filth at all, that she was an important person to him and many others, that she should get out of that hellhole that she called her home, away from that family of hers.

It didn't work. Even if she _was_ away from her family they still had a hold on her, binding her tightly with rules and threats to let her stay the puppet that they wished for. An instrument to do with whatever they pleased.

It disgusted him.

He disgusted himself, as he could do nothing to really help her.

So he just looked as she walked away, a bit crouched, waving at him once before turning around again and continuing her walk. He waved back, grinning awkwardly as he stared at her retreating back. His hand slowly fell back to his side as he mentally cursed his History teacher and he turned around.

* * *

He glanced around in a bored manner, one blue eye staring at what would be his living space for at least the rest of the year.

So, this was it. Not exactly what he had seen in the advertisement.

Hell, he would've been better off with the basement of your average psychopath. Fuckin' liars.

Well, he had to do with it for now. He could buy some more later on…

His couch was already placed somewhere on the left, as were the fridge. Cardboard boxes filled the rest of the tiny living room, hindering his sight as he did not like a messy place at all.

Too bad he was lazy as hell.

The blonde walked over and grabbed a bottle of beer that was randomly standing somewhere, seemingly untouched. He plopped down on the couch that screeched loudly under the sudden weight and took a gulp. A frown appeared on his face as soon as the liquor was down his throat; it was lukewarm. Placing the bottle next to the couch with a thud, Deidara lied back again and stared at the ceiling. He counted the numerous stains and specks, not wanting to know what it exactly was, and for the umpteenth time he thought back at his previous life.

The apartment reminded him of it all. It looked like the same place he had lived in a few years ago, back in the days he was still a kid. '_A_ _juvenile delinquent'_, as most people would put it.

A smirk began to form.

He hadn't seen them in a while. When had been the last time? Must've been that time when they were all caught by the cops, while trying to break in. Damn, that had been a hell. Life at youth prison was though, luckily he could stand on his own very well. It was there that he had seen Kisame for the last time, right before he was transferred to another place since he wasn't originally from the area.

He wondered what had happened to them all… and he wondered even more who had been the person to get him out of jail back then. With a clean record.

* * *

Pale eyes glanced to the side before a sigh from utter relief was heard.

He wasn't there.

She couldn't believe her luck. Then again, today was the day he had kendo practice… But still. A careful smile appeared on pink lips.

The heavy stone in her stomach was lifted to a minimum weight. Her mood was lightened within mere seconds at the thought of going home alone without even being bothered. Yes, today was a good day.

Hinata looked forward to see Kurenai again. Her care-taker had had it very busy the last few weeks since Asuma-sensei suddenly had become even more ill than normal, but she was certain he would climb out of that dark pit again.

He really would.

He had to.

She didn't notice the shadow behind her as she walked in a slow manner, looming over her in a threatening manner. She did notice the sudden arm around her waist, though.

Her scream was muffled by a hand as she was dragged over to a silent area of the park. To a place where she knew were no people, since it was always so dark there.

She hated the dark.

Tears began to leak as she could smell the faint scent of the same deodorant that he always had lingering around him, slightly intoxicating and attacking her nostrils when he was too close again. The coldness washed over her limbs in waves of terror as she felt his fingers digging slightly in her skin from the strength he pulled her with.

Hinata trashed around in his grip but failed miserably to escape as he chuckled. "Relax Hina. I only want to talk to you in peace." The feigned sweetness that barely overcame the ever-present emotionless tone was making her feel sick.

Finally he stopped. Her eyes were wide with fear as they took in their surroundings; she had been right. It was dark here. She wanted to run away. The arm around her waist did not let go but the hand on her mouth was lifted; immediately she sucked in cold air, heaving from anxiety at the thought of the person who had dragged her to here. She was twisted around so that dark eyes could bore a hole into her own pale ones. A smirk was present.

"Are you that afraid of me…" He cooed, leaning in. "…Hina-_chan_." She cringed at the nickname as it was huskily whispered in her ear. She didn't like it when it came from his lips. Those awful lips. Wriggling in his hold, she gasped as the arm around her pulled her in, against his own body. The warmth radiating from him felt chilling. A shiver went up her spine.

"S-S-Sasuke-san, pl-please… let m-me go…" She fought against the tears that threatened to fall again. He could tell. "I said I wanted to talk with you." She became silent upon hearing the slightly agitated undertone.

Sasuke was very subtle. So subtle he appeared as an apathetic person to an outsider. Hinata knew he wasn't. She knew him. She knew very well what was underneath that mask of silence.

"You know… I don't really like it that you are so close with that mutt," he said, and she knew that he was referring to Kiba. Hinata felt anger rising upon hearing it, but was by far not brave enough to dare and raise her voice to this man. It made her hate herself. She began to trash again but the arm pulled even harder to the point she felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

"Stop trashing, Hinata." Danger was present now. She fell silent again, as always. Averting her eyes to his black shoes that slightly glimmered in the faint darkness, she listened to his calm breathing to distract herself, trying to make herself feel better. It didn't work. Why was it always so dark over here?

"Alright, look… I'll forgive you this time. I know that you don't have any bad intentions." He paused, as if silently telling her not to disrupt that image he had of her. The angry tone that was present before had vanished. She shivered again as he continued.

"…But the next time he's all over you again, be warned." She took it as a threat. "I will not be as nice as I am right now." Sasuke suddenly grinned, she could hear it clearly ringing in her ears. "…Or should I tell him right now that he is to keep his hands back…" Although she couldn't hear it was directed to her, she knew it was. "No, n-no! Please Sas-Sasuke-san, leave h-him be."

He scowled darkly at the suffix for some reason. "Too bad, Hina. He has to know. I don't like it when things of mine are touched by dirty claws."

_She_ didn't like it when he referred to her as if she were his property, but didn't dare say it out loud as she was forced to look up.

His dark eyes were very close by, and Hinata wanted to avert her gaze again, she wanted to sacrifice a lot of things if it meant that she didn't have to stare back at the devil himself. She did nothing, though. She just glanced into those abysses of darkness, eyelids shivering as her very mind and soul screamed to close her eyes.

He smiled at the lack of resistance. "…Kiss me."

She stopped trembling from utter shock.

'Wh-What did he say?' She wasn't even able to get the question over her lips. Fearful white was sucked into black pools as she couldn't avert her gaze.

His smile faltered a little. "Well, I'm waiting…" She snapped out of her trance, her eyes finally leaving his and locking upon his lips.

Those awful lips.

* * *

With one strong push he swept the door open and walked inside, slightly shivering as the sudden wave of cold air from the air-conditioning hit him in the face, attempting to cool any newcomer off. He quickly walked further into the 24s-shop, glancing around to look for the few groceries he needed.

A bit to his right was a boy busy sweeping the floor as a few minutes before a bottle of pickles had fallen onto the floor; a couple of green specks were still noticeable.

Deidara strolled past the kid, scowling as with one sweep of the mop a few splatters hit his coat. The boy looked up apologetically and bowed his head a little while muttering an excuse. The other ignored him as he continued his search.

Randomly grabbing a few things he didn't bother looking for specific brands; for one, that was a waste of his time and two, it didn't matter shit to him.

Turning another corner, he was slightly annoyed with all those bright colors screaming at him, painful to the eyes and each and single one persuading him to choose their brand. The blonde didn't really look as his left hand went up and took a blue-colored can from the shelf from which he knew it had to be some type of canned fruit.

Almost at the cash desk, Deidara glanced around for the one thing for which he did bother to look at the brand.

Where were the damn cigarettes?

He considered calling the kid from before. Sparing the hunched-over silhouette one look he decided not to. Too much of a drag.

As if calling out to him, the typical red-white packaging of Malboro Light suddenly caught his sight. Luring him as he could already feel the smoke tickling his lungs, Deidara walked over and grabbed one of the packs. The first real smile since his arrival that day crept up.

Finally.

He had his smokes.

* * *

Her sleeve wiped past her lips in an attempt to get his lingering precense away.

Sasuke.

She didn't know what to do.

He was silent, very cold. Indifferent, most people thought. Girls loved him for his 'cool but hot' attitude, boys envied him for it although most would never admit that openly.

So, he was popular. No one really took the time to get to know him. And even if they tried, he wouldn't allow them to get past that apathetic mask of his; no one could see behind it, no one knew the real Sasuke. She didn't understand them.

She could see past the mask they carried.

She could see Sasuke.

He was a very possessive person, slightly narcistic as he thought he could get anything and anyone, and oh, would Hell break loose if he didn't get what he wanted. She didn't get what he wanted with her, though. _Her_, of all people. The why was a mystery hidden in the shadows for her. But she hated the way he got under her skin, she hated how her own father persuaded her into accepting it. She hated how scared she was for Sasuke and his constantly changing but ever-so-dominant behavior when he was with her.

It was probably the way he had been raised as a child, she realized while wiping once again the sleeve of her shirt over her dry lips.

A child was a human being that could be influenced very easily. Getting al its wants and needs that it desired for, one would most probably grow up to be a spoiled person. She knew it because it was what she had seen at her own home too. Her little sister…

Hinata sighed softly as she stopped herself from thinking further and forced herself to lock the memory out again. The name kept ringing in her ears.

Hanabi.

Hanabi.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to think of something else. Anything else but her former home.

A slight nudge in her side caused her to be shaken out of her thoughts. She whipped her head around, looking for the one who had done that.

Red eyes were looking at her with a hint of softness in them. A feminine hand was resting lightly on her shoulder.

"Dozing off for a change, aren't we Hinata." Playfulness lingered in the voice.

The girl smiled sincerely.

"S-Sorry Kurenai-sensei, I-I guess I was tr-trailing off again…"

* * *

Blue smoke coiled around him as he walked, looking around to see what his neighborhood was like. Nothing much. But he liked it. He could live with it.

The blonde ignored the few looks he was getting; he was used to being eyed suspiciously at, even though it had been much worse when he had moved to his previous home. It was a small circle, a clique of townspeople who already had been living there for a long time. He didn't bother to do something to change his appeareance, since he could care less what that whole lot thought about him.

He had learned a long time ago that people were quick to judge. It was so easy to form your opinion beforehand. Even without knowing much about the situation or person in question, it made you feel the satisfaction of thinking that your own, personal judgment was always right. Prejudice was a common thing in this world.

But in this city, this fucking big city, he blended in easily; not noticed by anyone since they were all strangers to each other.

He strolled further, pushing himself through the crowds and every now and then bumping into someone. It was a weird feeling, but he liked this life already.

The life of an unknown person.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for all the kind reviews, everyone. n.n And I'm really sorry for the long wait.. One month long and then I come up with this shitty chapter. X0 You probably hear it from a lot of other authors around here, but I was (and still am) really busy with school. Exams are coming up again, and I have to study hard or else I won't make it. So.. I'm sorry. But I'll try to update more often, because it wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't at least try. n.n But err… please review? Even if Sasuke was WAY too OOC?**


	3. Lesson nr III

_**Hetze**_

* * *

**Lesson nr. III**

The sound of a screeching teapot was still ringing in her ears as a cup of tea was placed in front of her by a hand with polished nails, careful not to spill the contents. Its aroma was steaming off the surface, the smell of green tea began to linger around her; she liked it.

Inhaling again to get another good whiff of the tea, Hinata tugged a few annoying strands of blue hair behind her ear so that they wouldn't fall into the hot liquor. White eyes looked up as the person in front of her finally sat down too, the legs of the chair slightly scraping over the floor while doing so.

"So Hina, how was your day?" Kurenai was looking at her with friendly eyes, patiently waiting for an answer. Hinata saw the hints of tiredness, though. She knew that her sensei was worn out. She knew that once again, she would have to lie. Kurenai was already under so much stress. Why bother her with more?

"It w-was fine, Kurenai-san." She forced a smile. "Kiba-kun g-got detention again… H-Have you heard the story already?"

The other smiled too, genuinely though. "Yes, I've already heard something like that from Anko over the phone. She told me that it was the first time in weeks that Kakashi had been truly angry. What did Kiba exactly say?" She was laughing now. "In order to get someone like Kakashi really mad over something a student said, it must've been something."

The forced smile was slowly replaced by a happy grin. "Y-Yeah… Kiba-kun answered something that w-was kind of the worst thing he could have said in that situation..."

Kurenai smiled. "It had something to do with the date, no?"

The dark-haired girl nodded. "Hmm. You knew that, too?"

"How could I not? Last time I was at school, Kakashi was so chipper he even hugged Genma during break, telling everyone who would hear it that it was thanks to his advice that he finally got Anko hooked." She winked. "And you know as well as I do how fast rumours get spread here."

The happiness slipped away like sand through her fingers in mere seconds. Hinata directed her eyes to her tea, distracting herself while attempting to cool off her tea and to think of something else. Kurenai noted the change of atmosphere immediately. "Oh Hina, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that." She reached over the table and grabbed the younger girl's hand, trying to get her look at her again.

It worked. Hinata's head shot up, glancing in panic at the woman at the other side of the table. "N-No, sensei!"

The loud tone surprised both. Hinata slapped her free hand for her mouth, blushing deep red. "Uh-Uhm… Wh-What I meant was, please d-don't worry about that, Kurenai-san." She looked back at her teacher again when she was sure she wasn't beet red anymore. "I-I mean, I'm fine…"

Kurenai looked unconvinced, but didn't press the matter anymore. She released the girl's hand and leaned back and stayed quiet. Silence engulfed them both as they were in deep thought.

Hinata was the first to open her mouth again, when she finally had mustered enough courage to ask the question that had lingered on her mind for a while now, but hadn't dared to ask yet.

"Kurenai-san…"

She paused. Should she continue? Was it even her business to ask? She wanted to know, but it may hurt the other… rip deep wounds open again. She frowned at the thought. Maybe she shouldn't. Kurenai had heard her, though. "What is it, Hina?"

Hinata gulped before trying again. "…H-How's Asuma-san d-doing..?"

Silence.

She felt the cold air around her suddenly. It was awfully chilly. When the blue-haired girl glanced up at the face of her teacher, she saw it.

Kurenai looked years older. A few wrinkles were seen near her eyes, her cheeks looked hollower than before as if she hadn't eaten properly in weeks. Her skin was paler than it ever had been. Hinata wanted to reverse time.

Kurenai was worn out.

Tired.

Just really, really tired.

Hinata felt intense sadness as she continued looking in a careful manner, already feeling sorry for Kurenai and silently asking her for forgiveness for asking that question. When she parted her lips to apologize, the other stopped her with a raised hand.

"Don't worry. It's okay." A deep sigh erupted from her throat. She let her hand fall back on the table again. "It's just… He's…"

Inhaling.

Exhaling.

"…He's not well, Hina. He's... not well at all. The doctors…" Kurenai suddenly stopped as she choked on her own words.

The younger girl averted her gaze as tears began to form in the corners of the bright red eyes.

It hurt.

It hurt really bad.

She knew what her sensei was trying to tell. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to hear the words.

_-__"Sticks and stones might break your bones, but words can never hurt!"- _

She remembered the saying. How wrong the person who had said it first had been.

Hearing the sobs that now raked through the body of the sad woman, Hinata fought her own tears back and stood up slowly. Walking around the table and halting right next to the side of Kurenai who now didn't even bother to hide her sadness anymore, her face buried in her hands as tears dripped on the glass surface of the table, splattering into thousands of tiny specks with a small tick.

Hinata hesitated before putting her small arms around the other, hugging her in a tight embrace. She no longer fought her own tears back and let them travel freely over her cheeks.

Her heart hurt.

* * *

He scowled at the empty package.

Gone already?

The entire pack?! Goddamn it. He should be more considerate with his health. Not to mention his wallet; he had bought the cigarettes yesterday and now they had already disappeared into thin air. Literally.

Sighing loudly Deidara got up and got his coat, deciding to go for a walk and take in his new surroundings; it would be a problem if he couldn't find that school where his new job would be tomorrow morning.

Closing the door with slight difficulty the blonde walked down the screeching stairs and got out of the building. He coughed once as the air suddenly hit him and already longed for a good smoke. He promised himself that he would get some later on.

Waltzing past a group of giggling school girls who followed him not-so-subtle with their eyes, Deidara decided it had to be his hair and continued strolling further in utter relaxation. He really liked this city.

The grin was there again.

Damn, he missed those times when he was out with the rest of the gang to start some shit. He remembered the day when some tough-looking geezer bumped into Tobi and immediately grabbed him in the neck and threw him against a random container, yelling at him to watch out as if it had been Tobi's fault.

Instead of apologizing like they all had expected him to do, the black-haired boy had gotten up with a huge smile as if he hadn't been thrown against a reservoir like he was an empty can of beer right before. The guy didn't even have the time to completely turn around because Tobi was already on his back, knocking him over, and he began punching him in the face with balled fists. Deidara could still remember the crazed look on Tobi's face, all grinning and with a bleeding cut on the back of his head. Sasori had to pull him away from the already unconscious guy before it got out of hand.

After that, Tobi was his old abnormally happy and geeky self again, but began wearing some weird orange mask from that day on. No one had ever said something about it. It was Tobi after all.

Deidara sighed.

Yeah... Tobi.

He had to admit that he missed the guy. Just like the rest.

Sasori.

Kisame.

Hidan.

Zetsu.

Itachi.

Yeah, even Itachi. He had forgiven him, but he hadn't forgotten. He would never forget what Itachi had done. Well, whatever. All in the past now... Tsch.

Looking around Deidara noticed he was in a part he couldn't recognize. He raked a hand through his hair in annoyance. Jesus Christ. This city was just too fucking big.

Searching for directions he was surprised not seeing one. Nowhere at all. He was about to turn around and go buy his goddamn cigarettes that were very much needed by now when he saw a young girl with pink hair in a school uniform. Maybe she was from this area?

Deciding it was worth a shot he walked over to the girl. Said pinky turned around even before he was over there, as if she had a sensor or something. The way she was smiling was irritating him and he already felt regret for even thinking of asking her directions.

"Hey handsome, never seen you around here. Are you... _lost?"_

He smiled back although any idiot could see it was forced. "...No. But could you tell me where Konoha High School is?"

The constant batting of her eyelashes made him feel disgusted. He hated the type of girl that presented herself on a plate, just waiting to get taken. Muttering a "...Never mind" he wanted to turn around but was halted by her high-pitched voice. "Ah, wait! I know where that place is. It's my school!"

'Oh, fuckin' _great_.' "All right, well.. Which way is it, hmm?"

"I could walk you over if you want to.."

"I think I'll pass..." Maybe the irritation in his voice had become noticeable as he could see the girl's face fall. "Just tell me which way. _Please_," he added as an afterthought, not feeling very grateful at all.

The girl's bright emerald eyes shone with a sudden arrogance that only girls could have. The cold undertone became clear as her voice dripped with iciness. "It's _that _way." She waved at a random direction with perfectly manicured hands before turning on her heel and walking the opposite way. Deidara smirked at her straight back. Someone _clearly_ couldn't take a rejection.

Heh. Like he cared.

* * *

Her hand slightly gripped her hair as the annoying pain in her head just wouldn't go away.

Hinata sighed. Yesterday had been a tough day. She had to bring Kurenai to bed again because she couldn't go by herself. Even after many hours she could still hear the quiet sobs through the thin walls and it had pained the girl to no end.

She hadn't slept that night, only dozing off a few times. In the morning, after many failed attempts at falling asleep and forgetting pale lips and dark eyes, she had heard the first birds singing their gentle tunes and had given up. Somehow she had been relieved that the night was over and its darkness had finally disappeared. After a refreshing shower she had gone downstairs as silent as possible, careful not to wake Kurenai, and had made herself a cup of green tea.

There really was nothing better than to start the day with herbal green tea. She smiled at her own little obsession, her hand letting go of her night blue hair and falling at her side.

School had been a drag, like always. Only when it had been lunch she had smiled again, listening at Kiba's rantings about detention and Temari's violent attempt to shut him up. She and Shino had laughed quietly when Kiba had been whining loudly about the unfair Temari to Lee, which had earned him another smack on the head. Smiling serenely at the thought of having such good friends she didn't even notice the blonde man passing her by, walking to her school although most people had already gone home by now.

However, the smile faded as soon as she thought of the note that was crumbled somewhere in her shoulder bag right now. The note that had been sticking onto her locker when school was over. The note that she had quickly snitched away before either Kiba or Temari had seen it, because she knew how they would react if reading it. The note from which she already knew who had written it before even looking through it.

The note from Sasuke.

She glanced at the sky. It was already beginning to get dark again.

**End of Lesson nr. III**

* * *

**A/N: -sighs- Yes, you may curse me. I'm really sorry for the long wait, everyone. **

**But I want to thank you all for reviewing again! n.n I really appreciate them since they really make my day again. Also, I wasn't really planning to make Sakura the slut of the story, but somehow it had turned out that way. So Sakura-fans, please forgive me. n.n; I don't really hate her or something… I just think she's a little annoying with her Sasuke-obsession…**

**Anyway. I have already started with chapter 4, but I don't really know when it's going to be posted. I'm not going to promise anything, since it would only disappoint you guys when it turns out to be a lie. But I'll do my best to upload a.s.a.p.!**


	4. Lesson nr IV

_**Hetze**_

* * *

**Lesson nr. IV**

He turned around a little to get another look at the girl that he had just passed by and got a glimpse of dark blue hair before she disappeared out of his sight completely. The blonde asked himself why he had even bothered to turn his head, but he already knew the answer to his own question.

It had been her smile.

Her smile had intrigued him.

And as quickly as he had been caught by it, it had faded with a sigh. He saw it happening and just like that the air around them had seemed to darken a little.

It probably had been one of those mood swings or something… He sighed, annoyed with himself. _Why _was he even thinking about this? Maybe she was going to become one of his students, for God's sake. More importantly; he had other things to deal with.

Snapping out of his daze he noticed the building that came to eyesight. He halted, staring up a little.

The building was huge. Kind oflike the rest of the city. Multi-story, he guessed that was because they had wanted to save space. It was beginning to become a common sight in a metropolis like Tokyo.

Letting his gaze fall back on the entrance again, Deidara continued his stroll and walked through the large iron gates that were still open. He took the few stairs, almost tripping over a small girl who was sitting there quite lonesome, and pushed one of the large doors open, casually walking inside as if he was a regular. The few students that were still there, talking animatedly to each other as lessons and most club activities had ended and heading towards the doors, looked up at the stranger coming in.

Deidara stared back uninterestedly and soon the curious gazes were quickly shifted back again, hushed whispers echoing through the hallways.

The blonde sighed. Nothing had changed since his high school days.

Looking around, he saw an empty desk. The secretary had probably gone home already, since it was getting late. Lifting his hand up, he stopped a boy who looked like he had a giant pineapple on his head and was about to pass him by. "Hey, could you tell me where the principal's office is?"

The boy looked a bit surprised, but answered nonetheless. "Uhmm, yeah. Troublesome, but I guess… You see the large hallway over there, on your right side?" He languidly gestured to an aisle that seemed to finish in a larger site. After a nod from the other, he continued, still in a lazy manner as if he thought that the talk was boring as hell. "You just take the stairs over there, continue walking straight ahead, and after a while it's on your left. You can't miss it..."

He sighed loudly. "Anything else? 'Cause I have to get going, my girlfriend is waiting and she doesn't like that, y'know… She gets really annoying if she thinks that I'm taking too long."

Deidara was irritated by the way the rude punk spoke to him, but he shook his head. "I think I can manage, hmm. Thanks, kid." He smirked a little. "I guess you should be going too. Wouldn't want to keep you girlfriend waiting, would we?"

The other sighed loudly again. "God, she's so troublesome. Well, see you later, I guess… You're the substitute teacher for Chemistry, right?"

Deidara looked a bit surprised. Maybe this kid was smarter than he seemed. "If everything goes well… Yes."

The other waved. "Thought so." He turned around, walking a bit slouched, and strolled towards the exit doors.

Deidara shifted his gaze towards the right and walked down the aisle, already seeing the stairs from there. Most lights were out already, the semi-darkness gave its surroundings a bit of a lost radiation.

Halfway up he looked down; the hallway was empty save for the few students that had cleaning shift. He saw a few boys laughing and joking with each other, one shoving his mope in the face of another. As he continued walking up the stairs he could hear the laughter and shouting ringing through the corridors right before a teacher came and scolded them.

Once upstairs Deidara looked around; even more classrooms were situated here, and in one of them he would walk around tomorrow, chalking some formulas on the board, explaining a few things, maybe even throwing a piece of chalk towards a student that refused to keep his mouth shut.

Teaching.

He was beginning to look forward to it.

Lifting his hand to knock on the door with a nametag that screamed 'Principal' to him, Deidara wondered what kind of woman this principal had to be. Probably one of those workaholics, considering that it was not very easy for a woman to get a position like this. He let his hand come down on the wooden surface and didn't need to wait long for an answer.

"Come in."

* * *

She rummaged through her bag, slim fingers sliding past the books and papers that were in it in search for the door keys. Her eyes fell upon the crumpled note that seemed to call out to her wherever she looked and her hands froze, trembling a little as she immediately pulled them away as if she had burned herself.

The girl calmed herself; it was alright, he wasn't there and he wouldn't come, either. It was all right. All right.

Shaking fingers delved down the leather once again, finally feeling the keys and pulling them out. She searched for the right one among the many options and pushed it in the door lock. The door swayed open with a little push and darkness welcomed her.

Kurenai-sensei was probably at the hospital again, Hinata mused as she walked inside. Tossing the keys onto the kitchen table and letting her bag fall onto the ground she turned some of the lights on, her right hand fisted around a small piece of paper.

She sat down, her hands in front of her on the glass surface of the table. She stared at them for a while in utter silence, the noises of outside and cars honking at each other sounding far away. Time seemed to have been frozen. She _felt_ frozen.

Finally her right hand opened. The piece of paper stuck onto her clammy skin before fluttering onto the table, the words slightly faded but still screaming towards her from the kitchen table.

"_**Don't forget, Hina."**_

* * *

She quickly walked ahead, trench coat slightly fluttering behind her, trying to shut her mind off the surroundings in order to keep her goal right in front of her. She breathed irregularly; the smell around here always made her feel sick, which was pretty ironic considering that this was a hospital, after all.

A new wave of nausea suddenly overcame her; she halted before grasping tightly onto one of the handlings on the side, free hand clutching her stomach as she fought the disgusting feeling of burning acid rising up her throat. She gulped several times, shivering as the sudden coldness hit her that was immediately followed by a uncomfortable and sweaty warmth.

The feeling died down bit by bit. She coughed as she wiped the sweat off her forehead and thought by herself that this had to be the third time that day that she experienced the strange nausea. Maybe she was getting sick? It was true that she was a little overworked lately; it probably had to do something with that.

After she was sure that she wouldn't puke her insides out, at least not for now, she continued her walk, eyes focused once again.

Checking her cell phone for any messages, she was just in time at the elevator and quickly stepped inside, smiling friendly at the couple that was also standing there, while shoving the phone back in her pocket.

The vague background music somehow calmed her chaotic senses. This had to be the first time that she found it useful for something. Usually she would wish for mere silence while waiting, but this time it was not really annoying.

The ding-dong sound signifying that they were at the third floor interrupted her thoughts and once the elevator doors slid open in one languid movement she stepped outside, looking around a little before spotting the right hall. She heard the doors behind her close again. The scent of antibiotics and hospital food seemed stronger than ever.

Suddenly she wanted to go back to the elevator, locking herself in and just listening to that stupid background music. But she willed that thought away, she had something important to do right now.

Something that would be difficult for her, but so important for the person in question. She had to do it for him. She had to see him. She _wanted_ to see him.

Room 3004.

Just knock.

Standing in front of the door in silence, she could hear him trying to hold in his sudden upcoming coughs, she could hear the bed creak slightly under the weight of a body that was trying to sit up right, leaning forward in order to prepare for the coughing fit. She could hear his lungs burn under the violence that was raking through them at that very moment. She knocked softly.

"-_cough_- C-Come i-_cough cough_- in."

It seemed as if her hand took forever to reach out for the knob to twist it in order to get the door open. Her fingers had started to tremble a little again.

She squeezed her eyes a little when they were suddenly hit with the light that streamed through the window opposite from her. She looked to her right and smiled. The reluctant thoughts from before had disappeared.

"Hello, Asuma..."

The other smiled back at her, his dark eyes laughing widely once they saw her standing there in the doorway, although his face sometimes twisted a little from the pain and the coughs that he tried to hold in. "I already –_cough_- began to wonder where you w-w-_chough_-were, Kurenai."

* * *

He stared in slight astonishment at the woman in front of him, who was glancing up at him from her paperwork with a questioning look in her hazel eyes. He didn't miss the bottle of sake standing on the desk.

This wasn't really what he had expected.

"Yes? How may I help you?"

Deidara blinked once. "Errr… Yeah. I'm the substitute teacher for Chemistry."

She clapped her hands once. "Ah, perfect! Iwa no Deidara, am I right?"

A nod. "Hmm. But I prefer just Deidara, if you don't mind."

She laughed shortly. "All right, Deidara-san. Well, I am the principal of this school, you may call me Tsunade-san." She stood up from behind her desk and held out her hand. The blonde shook it quickly."My secretary Shizune-san has been sick for the last couple of days, but I take it that one of the students has showed you directions?" The blonde nodded again, thinking back at the rude kid with the pineapple hair.

"It's a good thing you came today, I can hand you over some papers so that you don't have to look through all of them tomorrow morning." She rummaged through the many papers that lay on her desk and pulled a few out of the staple. She looked them through once, fingers sliding past the number of papers, before handing them over.

Deidara took them from her and glanced at the one on that was on top, then shifted his attention back to Tsunade, who cleared her throat and sat down again.

"I cannot say how happy I am that you took the offer, Deidara-san." Her hazel eyes seemed to pierce straight through him. This was, without a doubt, a strong-willed woman.

She sighed before continuing. "It was hard to find a replacement so quickly, since our former Chemistry teacher had fallen ill very suddenly. So when we got your application we felt that you were the right one."

The other grinned a little. "You could say that your offer came as a rescue for me, too. That's why I took it. Hm."

Tsunade smiled back. "Alright, then. It seems that we have helped each other out quite well." She gestured to the papers that were in his hands. "Perhaps you could look through them when you get back home? It's just some basic information about our school, a map and your provisional schedule. Also, Asuma-san, our former Chemistry teacher, has left you some notes about the subject-matter that he had yet to attend to."

Her eyes shone with a bit of sadness for a few seconds. "Asuma-san… Well, frankly speaking, as his situation is right now, it isn't likely that he will return."

Deidara felt the heavy atmosphere. "I'm sorry to hear that. Will he be alright?"

Tsunade sighed. "I'm afraid not. It's a severe case of lung cancer. They found out about it way too late. He is in the hospital right now, but they do not know how long he still has." She smiled suddenly. "But he is a strong man."

She looked up again. "Do you have any questions, Deidara-san?"

"Err… How late will I begin?"

The other thought about it for a second. "Is nine fine by you? You can introduce yourself to some of your colleagues if want to, and if I'm right you have your first class fifty minutes later."

Deidara nodded. "Hmm. Class 2-A."

Tsunade nodded as well. "Alright. Well, that is a good start, I suppose. A bit loud they are, but I'm sure you are able to handle those kids well."

She was answered with a smirk. "Don't worry about that, hmm. I know exactly how I have to deal with loud-mouths."

The other smiled. "Then you won't have any problems." She stood up. "I'm sure you will fit in here quite well, Deidara-san. It's good for the students to have a teacher who is closer to their age than most teachers here for a change."

For a second the girl with the dark blue hair flew back to his thoughts. "I think that I'm gonna like it here just fine, Tsunade-san."

**End of Lesson nr. IV**

* * *

**A/N: Well, that wasn't too much of a wait, right? n.n Still not much of DeiXHina, but in the next chapter the long-awaited meeting will finally be there! XD Yay. I have to say that I'm not sure about the suffixes and such, so if there are any mistakes, please tell! I need to improve, so… Same goes for the things about High school, since here in the Netherlands they have a completely different education system than in the US and in Japan. I hope I'm able to pull it off well...**

**And thank you all for your reviews! C: I really love them. I do have to warn that chapter five isn't going to come anytime soon, since I have exams in April. It sucks, but yeah... **


	5. Lesson nr V

_**Hetze**_

* * *

**Lesson nr. V**

Pale eyes stared up at the ceiling throughout the darkness.

She was lost in thought, thinking about what to do, about Kurenai-sensei and about her friends. Her insomnia was getting worse with each passing night and even though the blame was solely upon her because she was simply thinking too much, fearing and fussing over everything, she couldn't stop it.

She was so tired and she couldn't stop thinking.

One glance at her alarm told her that it was almost 5 o'clock. She sighed. Reaching one arm out over the side of her bed, she felt around in the darkness and got a hold on her blankets that had been thrown off. She pulled them over her body again and turned around, closing her eyes in order to shut out the throbbing headache that viciously attacked all of her senses.

Ahh… How nice it would be to let go of it all right now… Just sinking away in the warm arms of sleep and letting your worries get carried away… Far from everything else, just quiet peace surrounding you… Nothing but silence as the hours would pass unnoticeably.

Her eyelids felt heavy and the pillow felt so nice and the blankets felt really warm…

**'_Don't forget, Hina.'_**

Her eyes shot open and she heaved, immediately sitting up right in utter shock. Inhaling in gasps she reached for her throat, gripping pale skin lightly in order to calm herself. Beats of sweat trickled down her temples and fell onto the damp blankets that were tangled with her legs now. She let go of her throat and wiped a few sticky strands of hair out of her face. A shiver went down her spine. Her shaking hands fell listlessly into her lap.

Still breathing irregularly as if she had just run a marathon Hinata shot another look at her alarm, praying to the gods that it was time to get up and she could escape from the tight grasp that darkness held on her.

05:21.

She felt tired.

* * *

"BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBE-"

He hit the alarm with a loud smack, knocking it off the cardboard box in the process, and groaned loudly. A crack was heard.

Goddamnit all.

He had forgotten what always sucked about having a job: getting up early and be all happy-go-lucky in the morning had never been one of his main points. He wondered if teaching would be a new talent of his.

Of course, when he had gotten the papers yesterday, he had immediately looked through them just like every goody-goody two shoes would do, and had checked where that Asuma guy had left off right before he had fallen ill.

Chemical equation. It really wasn't his favorite part of Chemistry since it had a lot to do with mathematics and little with the actual reactions, but whatever. He had promised himself that he would teach those punks every damn concept of Chemistry in order for them to understand it, so this was part of it, too.

He turned around again and sighed loudly before he finally threw the blankets off his body and slowly set his feet onto the cold pavement. Slouching towards the bathroom he pulled his boxers off and got under the shower.

The cold water was refreshing after such a warm night. He felt the liquid travel down his bare skin and thought about what to wear.

No fancy attire.

Because- a.- It would make him look like one of those gawky college boys who had barely finished their study.

b.- It didn't sit right.

c.- It just wasn't him.

d.- He didn't _have _any fancy attire.

The blonde felt weird for thinking about this kind of stuff. Before he never had to worry about those things; the jobs he had in the past had all been insignificant, little jobs at the local stores, barely enough to make a living out of it but it had been sufficient.

He had went to college there, studying Chemistry and specializing in Inorganic Chemistry.

The study itself had been boring as hell; luckily the actual experiments had been much more interesting.

Chemical reactions, or to be a little more specific; explosions, had always intrigued him; ever since he was a little kid. It was like art, so swiftly fleeting and beautiful, yet so lethal as it could rip a body apart. When he was still in the Akatsuki his nickname had been Explosive Artist, since he was the bomb terrorist of the group; making bombs every once in a while, for selfish goals like letting trash cans explode just for the hell of it, or for other reasons, which was mainly giving the rest of the group a way to do their thing while the cops or the rivaling gangs were confused by the explosions.

It was funny really; to outsiders it seemed as if they merely were one of those youth gangs, just trashing around and picking fights. But Akatsuki had been freakishly organized; everyone had his own role within the group.

They were friends.

They were a team.

But it was all in the past; he no longer was an Akatsuki; he had a job now.

Speaking of which; how late was it?

Deidara quickly got out of the shower as he realized he should really do something about his habit of not being a morning person, grabbing a towel from the rag and drying himself swiftly before he walked back into his room and got to his closet.

Pulling on a pair of faded jeans and a black shirt with a random text on it, he glanced at the clock again.

It seemed that his breakfast for this morning would be cigarettes.

* * *

The first tunes gently sung by birds came as a liberation from her internal prison. She sighed when the realization that another night had passed dawned upon her and continued listening to the different songs that could be heard from outside, passing through the window that was left open a notch.

She loved birds. They seemed so free as they could fly away to everywhere and nowhere, away from danger and pain. Especially the last part was appealing. As a child she had always dreamed of flying, just spreading your wings out and letting yourself be swayed away on a gentle breeze through the eternally blue sky like you were a feather. But she soon came to know that she would never be allowed such freedom.

Her wings had been clipped before she could use them.

Hinata made a disgusted sound as she realized that she was drifting away in depressing thoughts again. What was the use of it? She had Kurenai-sensei now, her friends. School was nice. She had a roof to live under, a house to come home in and be welcomed by friendly words. She was so lucky. So why couldn't she be genuinely happy?

Continuing to reprimand herself Hinata got out of bed and walked towards the window. Pushing against it until it was completely open she leaned forward and inhaled deeply.

The morning air felt chilly at first but soon enough the gushes of warmth could be felt against her bare skin, signaling that today would be yet another warm day. From time to time a lonely car would be passing by even though it was still early, having the road all for himself for that moment. The birds seemed louder than ever, their open-air concert soothing the chaos inside her mind a little. In-between the many buildings she could see the single piece of horizon, already touched by the first rays of sunlight.

She loved the mornings.

* * *

Today was going to be annoyingly warm. Again. The morning air, already trembling with early warmth, touched his face in a slight breeze and he heaved a sigh before completely closing the door of the apartment complex behind him. He could hear the click when it fell into its lock automatically as he was already striding away, a thick binder and a few books under his right arm.

His first day as a teacher. He almost couldn't believe that he was playing the confiding, society-fit role on which he would've spit a few years earlier. It wouldn't be too hard to fit in, he supposed, only difficult to _stay_ fit in. The life of a salary-man wasn't really suitable for him, but he needed money. So for now, he would play his part. The blonde looked up at the sky that was already heavenly blue even though it was only 8 o'clock.

The air felt suffocating. A thin but ever-present haze of smog hung over the city, something he still needed to get used to, especially in this warmth. But still, even though it was oppressive here, it was nothing in comparison with his old hometown. The atmosphere was way more heavy over there, since people were so narrow-minded and deceived. Here, here it reeked modernity. The smell of technique, of building a future, of development. He would get used to it. He was sure of that.

Before he knew it Deidara arrived at the school building. It was already crowded, the fields that surrounded it filled with students, talking and laughing with their friends or reading in the cool shadows of a couple of trees at the side. Walking through the gate that was already open he spared a few kids a glance before continuing his stroll towards the building, sincerely praying that air-conditioning fell under the facilities.

He didn't notice the girl that was running into his direction. However, he did notice a sudden weight that collided with him before falling on top of him.

* * *

She hadn't seen the blonde man in all her haste, too preoccupied with avoiding a certain person. Now she wished that she _had_ paid more attention as a groan escaped from the lips of the man she was currently lying on top of and breath touched her face. A heavy arm was wrapped around her waist.

It took a few seconds before she realized the situation that she was in was quite… awkward. As soon as the thought connected to her brains, red immediately shot up to her face. She could hear the sudden laughter.

"S-S-Sorry!!" Beet-red, she scrambled off the person, the arm falling off her back, and got up, offering a shaking hand to the person that was still sprawled onto the ground. She felt as if she was going to faint. Laughter still erupted from the surrounding students and Hinata flinched while squeezing her eyes shut, hating the attention she was getting. Fingers suddenly locked around her hand and she opened her eyes again, seeing the man who was currently staring intently at her. She squeaked again, taking an unconscious step back.

The blonde smirked and with a little help from himself he also got up, now hovering above the small girl that had crashed into him a minute ago. She felt it as she had already averted her eyes again and anxiously waited for him to cuss at her for not watching out a bit more. His hand had slipped out of hers. The laughter still rang in her ears and echoed loudly as she closed her eyes again, cheeks still painted a bright red. Oh, how she wished she could disappear into thin air right now…

Suddenly a large hand was on top of her head, patting a little.

"You alright?" A husky voice asked her, the grin still present in it. Surprised, her eyes flew back and connected with the man's. Shocking blue looked back with a hint of a smile in it and immediately the faded blush returned again. She nodded, biting her lip before asking the same thing back in a soft and stuttering voice.

He grinned at this. "Of course. You think a tiny girl like you could hurt me, hmm?" The blush worsened. "A-Ah no, w-well.. B-But I ran v-very hard a-and I didn't see y-you and so I-I thought, u-uhm..well, I-I'm sorry.." She casted her eyes downwards, too ashamed to look up. The embarrassment was almost too much to take and she wished again to disappear, her tensed shoulders hunched up a little. The heavy hand was lifted up. " 'S alright, don't worry 'bout it." She saw his shadow shift from out of the corner of her eyes that were still focused on the ground before his voice was heard over the chatter and laughter again. "Here."

She finally looked up, seeing his outstretched hand with the papers that had fallen from her bag. She took them from his hands and bowed, muttering an apology again. The other smirked again. "I told you not to worry about it. I'm OK." He coughed a little. "I'm Deidara by the way, the new Chemistry teacher."

Hinata looked up, surprised. "The n-new Chemistry t-teacher? A-Ah, wait, you are s-substituting for Asuma-s-sensei, right?" A careful smile was carved onto her lips now. "T-Then, we'll be seeing e-each other today again."

The other seemed a bit taken aback before smiling back at her. "Alright, then. I'm glad there's at least one composed person in that class, hmm."

Upon hearing the last word her eyes widened. "Class… Oh no, h-h-how late is it?" Frantically, she cast a look on her watch before gasping. "I-I-I got to g-go, sensei!" Bowing once again before continuing her hasty phase from before, she shyly waved back at the blonde, still a little red adorning her face.

He seemed nice enough, she mused. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

While she was thinking about her new teacher, Hinata didn't notice a dark pair of eyes from somewhere in the crowd that followed her figure, anger glowing in them.

* * *

He let out a groan as the light scent of the person on top of him got to him. Damn, what just happened? Did some quarterback maul his way through the crowd or something, squishing innocent bystanders in the process? Dark hair tickled his face a little and he looked up.

Lavender eyes were staring back at him, though a little hazy as if they hadn't realized what just happened. The scent got stronger, it smelled sweet and… girly. He was suddenly very aware of his arm that was wrapped around the person.

"S-S-Sorry!!" He felt her weight shift as she tried to get off of him and he immediately let his arm fall, before someone would get the wrong idea. It would be a little inconvenient to get fired on his first day of work. Laughter was heard everywhere around them as students stared and pointed to the spectacle before them. He looked up and saw a small hand stretched out to him, trembling a little. It seemed that she didn't like being the center of attention.

He reached out and got a hold of her hand. Eyelids opened and again the shockingly bright eyes stared at him, widened a little in surprise. He didn't know if the sudden dizziness came from his head smacking onto the ground a few minutes earlier or from something else.

The girl let out a small squeak and took a step back, as if he had just tried to bite her head off. Deidara couldn't stop the smirk that was beginning to form on his lips. This girl was too cute. He pushed his weight off the floor with his free hand and got up, standing in front of the trembling mass of nerves that was blushing and trying to at look everything but him. She looked as if she wanted to die right then and there, her face as red as an tomato. A little more and her head would explode, he mused. Better do something about it. His fingers let go of her hand and hovered over her head before patting the dark hair slightly. "You alright?"

Her surprised eyes locked onto his again and she seemed ever redder than before. Mutedly, she nodded. "A-Are you as well, s-sir..?" It sounded like the chiming of wind-bells, barely heard over the laughing and animated talking.

The blonde grinned. "Of course. You think a tiny girl like you could hurt me, hmm?" He could see the blush worsen as she tried to get an answer out, stuttering and stumbling over her words. "A-Ah no, w-well.. B-But I ran v-very hard a-and I didn't see y-you and so I-I thought, u-uhm..well, I-I'm sorry.."

Lavender was gone again as she shifted her eyes back to the floor, apparently too embarrassed to say another thing. He lifted his hand, dark strands of hair shimmering slightly now that the light fell back on them again. " 'S alright, don't worry 'bout it." He looked at the ground as well, seeing papers scattered on the floor around the two of them. Looking back at his books and the binder that were lying on the floor a bit lost but apparently intact, he reached forward to get the papers. The laughter had died down a little but people were still chattering and whispering animatedly as if they had just witnessed an huge event.

"Here." He stuck his hand out, and was pleased to see that her face was directed to him again. Taking the papers from his hands she immediately bowed while muttering an apology again. The smirk came back again. What was this girl, saint Joseph or something? "I told you not to worry about it. I'm OK." He coughed a little. Better introduce himself before she thought he was some creep lurking around in schools or something. "I'm Deidara by the way, the new Chemistry teacher."

She seemed surprised by this. What, he didn't look like the teacher- type of guy? Well, he couldn't really blame her…

"The n-new Chemistry t-teacher? A-Ah, wait, you are s-substituting for Asuma-s-sensei, right? T-Then, we'll be seeing e-each other today again." The smile was suddenly there, small and careful but definitely there, just like the day before. The lightheadedness returned again but he formed a smile on his own lips as well. He felt like a retard.

"Alright, then. I'm glad there's at least one composed person in that class, hmm."

As soon as he had said that her eyes widened, apparently realizing something."Class… Oh no, h-h-how late is it?" She gasped again upon looking at her watch. "I-I-I got to g-go, sensei!"

She bowed once again and quickly turned around, wrenching herself though the crowd that had formed around them. He was still staring at her when she looked over her back, waving a little before turning again and disappearing around the corner.

The students seemed to realize that the show was over and the crowd dispersed, everyone drifting back to their classrooms as well. Deidara turned and got his binder and books from the floor, absentmindedly dusting them off a bit.

He needed a cigarette.

**End of Lesson nr. V**

* * *

**A/N: I'm** **sorry. ._. To those of you who waited so long, I can't apologize enough. No excuses. **

**Uhm, I hadn't realized that the symbols I had put in-between the changing perspectives had disappeared for some reason. o.O Luckily, **_**Haruka2007**_** pointed it out for me, so I hope that it'll be a bit more understandable now.**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews and the advice!! I really appreciate it, even though I don't deserve praise right now. n.n; **


	6. Lesson nr VI

_**Hetze**_

* * *

_**Lesson nr. VI**_

He closed his eyes for a second in order to calm himself. _'Think about something else… something serene.'_ One name immediately came to mind.

_Hinata._

His balled fist flew out and hit the wall next to him, leaving a dent in the white plaster. A vague numb feeling spread from his now bruised knuckles to his entire hand, but he paid no heed to it.

_How dare she?_ Shamelessly flirting with some guy, while he was standing close by.

He scowled. Perhaps he was going too far here. Surely it wasn't her fault, she had probably smiled at that asshole without thinking, she was a person like that.

She was too nice for her own good.

But then again, he kinda liked that about her. He liked everything about her. His little toy.

His toy.

_His. _

* * *

Something nudged her from the left and startled her out of her semi-sleeping state. Dazed, she looked up and saw that her English teacher was still droning on about the past tense.

"Hina-" Her name was whispered in hushed tones, since they were currently in class. Pale eyes swiftly moved to see who had called and met with a pair of electrifying blue ones.

"-You look so tired, honey. Are you OK?" Ino's face showed worry as she was leaning towards the shy girl in order to hear the whispered reply. Hinata smiled back softly."I'm alright Ino-chan, d-don't worry.. I just didn't sl-sleep too well last night, and…"

_**-"Don't forget, Hina."-**_

"…a-and I had a bad dream."

The blonde frowned for a second, as if she didn't buy it. But deciding she wouldn't press the issue further she leaned back in her chair, sticking up her thumb and grinning a little before turning back to take notes. Hinata turned back too, smile faltering and her thoughts falling back to their closed-off state again.

'Don't forget'.

How could she ever? The words, the day, the sight were engraved in her soul. She would never forget.

* * *

A crumbled piece of paper was suddenly thrown at him. Hitting him straight in the face, Kiba let out a surprised yowl and immediately glared around him to see who was the unfortunate person that had thrown stuff at him. He spotted Ino who smacked her forehead in frustration at his loudness.

"What is it, Inuzuka?" The teacher was staring at him from behind his glasses, looking a bit miffed by the sudden interruption.

"Nothing, sir. I just realized that I hadn't written down the second condition." Snorting was heard from different spots, as most of his classmates knew that the day that Inuzuka Kiba would take notes was when pigs could fly.

"Well, just copy the notes of someone else after class. I need to finish this before the bell rings, so no more trivial interruptions, please." The teacher turned back to the board to chalk something down with frustrated sweeps.

Kiba rolled his eyes and looked back at the blonde who was gesturing impatiently at him now, motioning for him to read what was written on the piece of paper. He sighed in agitation before folding it open.

'_Kiba- What the hell is bothering Hinata?'_

He looked up and followed Ino's gaze to the person next to her. Hinata was staring off into space again, completely lost in her own little world. He could see the dark rings under her eyes, making her look even paler than usual. An unspoken sadness seemed to shine around her form.

The darkhaired boy frowned and wrote something down on the paper before crumbling it and throwing it back at the rightful owner again.

* * *

She caught the piece of paper and folded it open, taking in a sharp breath as her blue eyes immediately fell onto the single word that was scribbled down below her question.

'_Sasuke.'_

* * *

A gush of artificial wind hit him softly in the face as he opened the door to the teacher's lounge and secretly he cheered that air-conditioning did indeed fall under the facilities. Thank god.

Feeling the stares of three pair of eyes suddenly upon him Deidara stopped his mental cheer and looked back at the owners. Six orbs were directed at him and there was a bit of a tense atmosphere; suddenly the blonde felt as if he had just barged into a very private conversation.

"..Err, hi. I'm Iwa no Deidara, filling in for Asuma-san. Yoroshiku(*), hmm. I hope I didn't, err, interrupt anything?" He grinned awkwardly, while raising one hand in a greeting gesture. The silence was beginning to feel unbearable but one of the men rose from his chair and smiled a bit.

"Do not worry, Deidara-san. You didn't interrupt anything. It's nice to finally see you, Tsunade-san has already informed us about you." The man offered him a hand. "I'm Umino Iruka, but you may just call me Iruka if you please."

Deidara's eyes lingered on the face of the man for one second, noticing the large scar that marred it, before straying back to his eyes and smiling. "Thank you, Iruka-san." He seemed like a nice guy.

The other two, one female and another man, were standing now too, respectively introducing themselves as Yūhi Kurenai and Shiranui Genma. They invited him to sit down with them and the woman named Kurenai looked at him with a friendly gaze.

"Any need for a cup of coffee or tea, Deidara-san?"

The blonde looked up at her thankfully. "Ah yeah, coffee would be nice." He grinned a bit. "I was in a bit of a hurry this morning, so the only breakfast I got was a cigarette, hmm."

His words seemed to hang in the air for a while and it was at that moment that Kurenai's face fell; Iruka and Genma both cast a quick look upon her before turning back to the table in tense silence. The heavy atmosphere was back for a moment. Deidara was a bit taken aback by the intense sadness that seemed to linger in the already humid air and wondered if it was something he had said.

"…Well. I'll grab you some coffee then, Deidara-san. Do you drink it black?" Kurenai smiled again and there was no sign of her distress from a moment before, except for her voice that seemed to tremble with an emotion that was tightly held in. She seemed tired.

Deidara was snapped out of his little daze. "Errr, yeah. No milk or sugar, please." Kurenai nodded and went to the vending machine that was standing a bit further, her elegant steps making her seem like a strong woman and not someone who was about to cry moments before. The blonde stared a bit after her before turning back to Iruka and Genma, who were now looking at him with a bit of a strained stare.

Iruka coughed a little. "Deidara-san. Would you please be so kind not to talk about… cigarettes or anything related to smoking when Kurenai-san is near? It is a bit of a… touchy subject."

The other was a bit fazed at this. Smoking was a no-no here? Well, _shit_. He nodded, however, when the two men in front of him continued to stare at him with a look that clearly told him that a 'no' wouldn't be accepted.

A bit grouched Deidara leaned back in his chair when he realized that he would have to go outside if he wanted his smoke, or at least not going within a ten-mile radius of Yūhi Kurenai. Her colleagues seemed rather... protective of her, and not to mention that he didn't want to be responsible for making a woman cry. He didn't like it when they cried.

The click-clack sound of high heels was back and a steaming cup of hot coffee was placed in front of him. The blonde said his thanks and took a sip, wincing as he burned his tongue a little. Stealing a glance from the woman that had sat down in front of him, Deidara noticed that even though she looked young, there were already a few wrinkles present. She no longer seemed tired; she looked exhausted.

* * *

The bell's sharp ringing shook her out of her thoughts and she bolted upright, taking a few quick glances around her to see that class really was over and that most students were already slumped down or stretching their limbs before walking over to a friend, taking a few moments of relaxation before next class would begin. She looked over to Kiba's spot and saw that he wasn't there; turning around again, the dark haired girl decided that she would stay at her seat. It was safe here, since _he _was in another class.

Hinata frowned a little at the thought of aforementioned next class. She knew that today the new teacher would come, and she didn't do the homework that Asuma-sensei had told them to do a few weeks earlier.

..Well, it wasn't like she hadn't _tried_ to do it, but it had just been too difficult. She didn't understand anything of chemical equation, it was too similar to math.

She let out a sigh. Ah well, at least the new teacher had seemed nice. And he was still young as far as she could tell, so maybe he could understand it when she would them him that it was a little difficult…

Suddenly she smelled _his_ cologne.

Soon after she realized that, cold hands were already around her and she immediately froze at the touch. Cold sweat broke out, drenching her clenched fists, and a tremble went through her like an electrocution. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second in order to make the sudden nausea go away and then opened them again, casting glances from out of the corner of her eye in utter panic, desperately looking for someone who noticed her, _who saw her…_

"Hey, Hina."

Her body went still at the sound of his voice. She listened to the silence as most of her classmates were quiet now, seeing what was happening. A few whispers were heard but died down as soon as Sasuke turned his head a little to glare at the other students, silently daring them to say anything. Eyes were immediately directed to somewhere else. _Did no one __**see **__**her**__?_

Suddenly she was pulled out of her seat into the direction of the paper sliding door, his hand around hers as he took her with him. She didn't struggle. She didn't try to pull her sweaty hand out of his grasp. She just stayed silent and listened as her classmates continued their conversations from before, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Everyone knew better than to be in Uchiha Sasuke's way.

* * *

He let out a soft sigh as he closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway, pushing himself through masses of students.

First day of work.

First day of teaching.

First lesson.

He didn't really feel nervous or something; maybe a little tense, but not nervous. He would get used to the kids, and somehow they would get used to him, and after a while it would feel like he had been teaching for years.

Speaking of kids, he was anxious to find out what kind of juvenile debris he would find in class 2-A. "A bit loud" Tsunade had called them. Tsch. Well, at least he knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn't have any problems with loud mouths; it was just too bad that the old-school method of corporal punishment was no longer allowed.

Looking up, Deidara realized that he was almost there; he had passed 2-D and 2-C, so it would be a matter of moments before he would walk in the first class of his first working day as a teacher.

The bell rang again, signaling that everyone should be at their rightful place by now. While some students hastily pushed their way past him in order to get to their class in time, Deidara noticed something.

Two shadows were visible on the floor, a bit further away from where he was standing, and from what he could see they both didn't exactly look like they were making themselves ready to go back again. The blonde smirked at the thought of being able to interrupt a lovey-dovey moment between a couple and make use of his authority to send them back to their class. Ahh, what happy thoughts.

The hallways were almost empty now, and Deidara made sure that his footsteps could be heard clearly throughout the aisle. He could see the shadows move, a few soft moans were heard.

Deidara turned around the corner and suddenly the atmosphere felt strange. At the sight of the couple his thoughts of playing the police officer-kind of teacher were right out the window.

The blue-haired girl from that morning was standing there, back pushed against the wall harshly, with a boy looming over her. Their lips were locked in a kiss and the guy had his hands at places were boys normally shouldn't have their hands, but somehow the whole picture seemed off.

The blonde ignored the small pang that raked through him and coughed loudly to get the attention of the busy teenagers. Immediately the girl's eyes flew open and locked with his.

It lasted only for a second or two but it seemed an eternity to him as fearful white eyes that shone with unshed tears looked at him, pleaded him for help somehow. His hand reached out and was placed on the boy's shoulder, perhaps a little heavier than he had to do.

"Oi kids, knock it off, hmm. Next period has started."

The dark-haired guy finally let go of the girl and turned around, shaking off the hand that was on his shoulder. Deidara was hit by a strong sense of déjà-vu as the angry guy glared a hole in his head, threateningly standing in front of the older man. The kid looked really familiar. "What the fuck do you want?"

The blonde wasn't fazed by this as he smirked a little, shaking of the feeling of recognition. "Big mouth, eh? Be careful punk, or it might get ugly for you, hmm."

"Che." The other apparently didn't plan to back off, either. He leaned forward a little, face close to Deidara's in a mocking way. "…If you don't watch it, it might get ugly for _you_… sensei."

The tone in which he spoke was collected but there was a dark undertone lingering underneath a layer of feigned calmness. Coal black eyes seemed to grin at him, although there wasn't any humor in them at all. It was almost the look of a snake that was smiling back at his prey, just before swiftly attacking and injecting his poison.

Blue eyes narrowed almost unnoticeably at the threat, but Deidara kept on staring back coolly at the boy. Empty threats didn't bother him. Besides, he detested kids like this.

"Speaking up against sensei, hmm? What would your girlfriend think?"

His eyes left the younger man for a moment to linger on the girl that was behind him, gazing fearfully at the scene in front of her. Her small hands didn't stop shaking. He wondered if that was because her boyfriend was currently threatening a teacher or because of something that might have occurred earlier.

The dark-haired boy noticed his stare and he moved his body so that he was blocking her from view, eyes suddenly very hostile. He reached out to grab her hand; Deidara didn't miss her wince. "Come on Hina, teacher wants us to go back to class." He turned around to walk away, but the girl didn't budge.

"…Sorry-"

The word was mouthed, but somehow Deidara had heard it very clearly. He smiled a bit at her.

"_Hinata_."

Her shoulders hunched as she let herself be pulled away, the boy shoving his broad shoulder against the blonde on purpose while passing by. Deidara only grinned at this as he clearly got the hint. This wasn't over and they both knew it.

As the two teenagers disappeared around the corner Deidara wondered why it always were guys like that who got the girls.

_**End of Lesson nr. VI**_

* * *

(*): 'Yoroshiku' means something like "Please take good care of me", if I'm right. n.n; It's kind of the Japanese equivalent of "Nice to meet you".

**A/N: Why halo thar. :D This update wasn't taking too long, right?? I really wanted to post this before New Years, just so that I could wish you all a happy 2009. ;) And a thank-you to everyone who reviewed! Seriously, I expected this story to have far less readers, since DeiXHina is a crack couple pur sang. xD **

**By the way, please tell me if Sasuke's OOC-ness is getting out of hand. T-T I've tried to let him stay in character as much as possible, but somehow he's still a bit stalkerish.**…**Ah well, very few dislike him that way. I know I don't. 8D By the way, Deidara's comparison of Sasuke with a snake isn't a coincidence of course.**

**And to anwser _Jaime Snyder's_ question; Yes, yes he would. C:**

**Anyway, enough of my ramblings; I hope you all have a wonderful New year!! And I'll be seeing you in 2009. ;)**


	7. Lesson nr VII

_**Hetze**_

* * *

**Lesson nr. VII**

Her wrist was still slightly smarting from his tight grasp, the beginning of bruises forming on pale skin becoming noticeable. But that wasn't what was on her mind right now. It were his last words to her, huskily whispered in her ear before he had left for class. It were his last words running through her mind over and over again, as if her head had become an antique record player forever stuck on the final song. It were his last words that had ripped open old wounds.

- Flashback -

"_Come on Hina, teacher wants us to go back to class."_

_But she stayed were she was, not looking at either of them as both seemed to emit some kind of forceful authority, although one was darker than the other. She still didn't look up when she brought out the one word of which she knew it should be said, and it was said by her because Sasuke was too proud to ever utter it. He had never apologized, not once in his whole life, not even after that incident. And he wasn't going to begin with it now, as he already turned away to leave._

"…_Sorry-"_

_It had left her lips very quietly, and for one second she had the vain hope that the one who was currently holding her hand in a very possessive way hadn't even heard it. But the grip around her fingers tightened and the way he spoke her name didn't hide the threat. _

_Her shoulders hunched a little as her arm felt like it was going to be pulled out any second now, and she let Sasuke pull her away, the arrogant boy shoving into their teacher on purpose. But she hadn't missed the smile of the latter._

_The sight had made her heart flutter in the tiniest of ways and she would keep that image there, as a secret. Sasuke wouldn't find out that she now had another shred of hope._

_They turned the corner. They went past her classroom, they went past his. She looked up at him as to ask why they weren't going back to class, but the question died on her tongue as soon as she saw his look. He was angry. _

_Her back hit the wall painfully as she was shoved against it more forcefully than normal, but she didn't dare make an attempt to move in any way as his hands were on either side of her head and his face was very, very close._

_The dark look in his eyes faded in the slightest as he forced her to look up at him, hadn't she been a keen observer she wouldn't even have noticed. But she did and it made her heartbeat slow down a little. _

_However, her misplaced sense of comfortableness was shattered as soon as his mouth was suddenly right next to her ear, warm breath slowly tingling her cheek and making her dizzy as the smell of cigarettes lingered in it and reminded her of the past again._

"_Don't…" The word was whispered very softly as if it were a special secret between just the two of them, but the slight pause was only meant to let it sink in real good before he continued. "…ever apologize to that guy again."_

_Her breathing hitched._

"_Don't even talk to him again. I forbid it." She wanted to say that that last part was going to be a bit of a problem as 'that guy' was her teacher, but only shivered as she felt Sasuke's cold fingers slightly traveling down her neck. He slowly breathed in, calmly taking in her scent and cherishing it for a second, before he breathed out again. "-Or else he might end up the same way Sabaku no Gaara did."_

_She let out the shaky breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, and looked as he leaned back a little and the contorts of a smile formed themselves on his face. The smile of a predator._

_She didn't take his threat lightly as she slowly sank to the floor, falling onto her knees and staring back at the past that formed itself right before her eyes. He left her to deal with it on her own and walked away, but not before crouching down and planting a soft kiss on her trembling lips, smile still not faded entirely as if he was savoring her fear._

_She didn't have any tears left to spill and so she cried it out on the inside, where no one would ever hear her._

_Gaara._

_Gaara._

_**-"Don't forget, Hina."-**_

_The screaming was back again._

- End flashback -

Any hope that she had carried with her before in the form of her new Chemistry teacher, had fled away as soon as Sasuke had uttered his curse-like words.

She whispered the once-forgotten name softly as if letting it out would make it go away, but it held no avail. It had been pushed away for so long, locked up in the darkest room of her mind so that it would never come out again, but Sasuke possessed just the right key to free it out of its prison. And now it wouldn't go back again.

She could clearly see the whole event in front of her as it had been engraved into her very soul, but his name… she had forgotten his name, had formed an image of his face as a blank mask of an unknown person. It was what had caused her insomnia. She had pushed it away as the confrontation with it had become too much for her to bear, and at night she would suffer the consequences for it.

She hadn't seen him for so long. She just hadn't been able to look at him any longer, see his face, think of him, hear his name. Sabaku no Gaara had been banned out of her memory and she hated herself for it. Perhaps this was a justified punishment.

* * *

He had entered classroom 2-A six minutes too late. Talk about a good start.

Glancing around with a nonchalant look etched on his face, he took a sip of his second cup of coffee from that morning; at the lack of nicotine, some extra caffeine had to suffice.

2-A was staring back at him expectantly, waiting for him to say anything so that they could figure him out and think about their next move in plan 'How-to-rile-the-newbie-up'. He hated being a wet blanket and spoil their pubescent fun, so he spoke.

"So, 2-A. I'll be your new Chemistry teacher from now on, hmm. Name's Iwa no Deidara, but calling me Deidara-sensei or just sensei will do. Asuma-san left me some notes as to where you had left off…" he looked them through for a second before directing his eyes back to the students, who were still gawking at him as if he were the newest accession of Tokyo Zoo. He figured that the thought of him not really fitting the image of a teacher was true after all. "…so I guess it would only be fair if we _started_ where you had left off, hmm? But before that, I would like to see where everyone's seated."

Pulling out a blank map of the classroom and a list with all the student's names, he briefly skimmed it through before looking back again. "Alright… Aburame, Shino?"

He was answered with a curt but polite "Here." from somewhere on the left, and as the blonde looked for the owner of the voice he was met with a kid that looked like he had escaped straight out of juvie. Deidara wondered if the boy was allergic to sunlight as he wore a pair of sunglasses and had his hood so far down that one could barely see his face, but decided that he wouldn't say anything about it as he himself wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. Apparently they weren't too strict with clothing regulation around here. Not that he minded.

"Akimichi, Choji…"

A rather obese kid with a bag of potato chips raised his free hand in the air. His slightly muffled "Here." was accompanied by pieces and bits of the bacon-flavored snacks that went flying through the air at the one word. Fortunately for the new teacher he was not sitting at the front but rather somewhere in the middle, so that the student who was seated in front of him wiped the remains of the chips off his shoulder with a slightly disgusted look.

The list went on and on and each time he was answered with a "Here" in many different ways. Until he got to "Hyuga, Hinata."

Silence.

He didn't think he had spoken indistinctly, but just to be sure he tried again. "Hyuga? Hyuga Hinata. Are you there, hmm?"

Aburame, Shino, the slightly creepy-looking kid, didn't say anything as he meaningfully pointed to somewhere at the back, where an all-too familiar face was apparently busy with staring off into space and not with paying attention to him.

He was positively surprised by the fact that _she_ would be in his first class. Class 2-A. He seemed to come across her a lot; with a slight grin he remembered their first _meeting _that morning. The second one had been less exultant, though; it had felt strange. He wondered what her exact relationship with that familiar-looking punk was. She really was an enigma.

Hyuga Hinata.

She was lucky that she looked cute, or else he would've made use of his brand new weaponry; Namely, a few pieces of chalk to throw at one's head. Walking up to her he came to a halt right before her table, the rest of his class following his every move with curious eyes and silently wondering what this new teacher was all about.

He tried not to think about the events from minutes before, but still found himself slightly wondering about this strange girl. Of course, he had to keep up his professional exterior, but that didn't mean that he couldn't _think_ about her, right? He called her name again.

Still not getting any answer, he crouched down until he came to the same eye level and snapped his fingers once. White orbs blinked twice before they focused on the sight before them and took in the electrifying blue eyes staring back at them. Their owner let out a squeak and shot backwards with a strawberry-colored face, the sound of a chair scraping on the floor echoing awkwardly through the classroom.

His slight smirk didn't go unnoticed, and suddenly 99 percent of the female occupants present in the classroom was very satisfied with having such a young teacher learning them the basics of what had been a 'nerd-only' subject before, but was now upgraded to 'interesting'.

The remaining one percent however, was currently busy looking at everything that didn't involve the face of her new teacher who seemed so fond of catching her in the most embarrassing of acts.

Slight grinning was heard throughout the room as the other students enjoyed themselves over her antics, but it abruptly died down when the blonde playfully patted her on the head with the question if she would be so kind to pay attention from now on, smirk still in place.

Deidara gleefully patted himself on the shoulder when walking back to the front again as he had noticed that that last act had caused quite a stir in 2-A. Oh-ho, what fun he would have in pestering these kids.

"Ok, next victim, hmm. Inuzuka, Kiba—"

* * *

She inwardly prayed to the gods that this was all a very bad dream, or that they at the very least would allow her to sink away into a very large hole in the floor. It really seemed that this blonde man loved to see her in a difficult predicament.

Her head hadn't overcome the latest rush of blood flowing through yet, and now he had asked her for her answers on questions she hadn't understood, let alone finished! Had he picked her on purpose, some sort of morbid punishment for what had occurred earlier? Her lips shakily opened as she answered her teacher in a voice trembling from utter embarrassment.

"I-I-I didn't f-fully understand the q-q-questions, s-sensei.."

The short silence that fell after her words felt incredibly long and humiliating as she had never, ever failed to do her work properly before, an old habit from when she had still been living with her father; he had made sure that she would form as little an embarrassment for him as possible.

Her classmates seemed to feel a bit sorry for her now as most knew that she had difficulty in subjects involving the use of numbers and other things related to mathematics, so being the outspoken friend that he was, Kiba decided to help his shy friend out a little. "Sensei, Asuma-sensei always helped Hinata-chan with subject-matter like this. She—"

Their teacher raised a hand to interrupt the attempt at heroic bravery of the boy. "Shush, Inuzuka. I'll take care of this by myself, hmm." The latter fell indeed silent, both surprised and aggravated with the fact that this new teacher already knew his name when the hour hadn't even passed yet. It seemed that he was going to be in for a very long ride.

Hinata was grateful to her friend but knew that she was probably not going to get out of this one, especially not after zoning out on her teacher shortly before, so she silently awaited for the verdict, eyes directed to the floor.

"Hyuga-san."

She looked up. His one blue eye seemed to scrutinize her.

"Stay around after class, hmm. We'll talk this over for a minute."

She suddenly felt like her having difficulty with chemical equation wasn't going to be the only thing that they would talk about. Sasuke's words hadn't disappeared from her mind as she nodded almost unnoticeably, silently wondering how she would get out of this little problem.

* * *

His eyes felt very, very heavy as he tried to focus on the television-program and its host, who was currently being crushed in the bear-hug of a contestant that had just won 5 million yen. His mind couldn't win the fight of sleepiness and so he gave up.

Turning the TV off and using every ounce of strength to throw the remote on the table next to him, he let his arm fall down and sighed heavily, before immediately falling into a fit of heavy coughing.

It was only after his body had calmed down a little that he let his eyes rest and thought of what the doctors had said to him the previous night. He had always thought that cancer was an ironic disease and the words he had heard yesterday had only confirmed that.

After fighting for so very long, it had become clear that the latest session of chemotherapy hadn't succeeded. The cancer had spread out to his head and from now on they could only pretend to know how much time he had left.

He hadn't shed a single tear about it. He guessed that after fighting oneself through so many disappointments one would get used to it, even if the next one was a heavy smack in the face. Right after they had brought him the bad news he had ushered for them to leave him alone for a while and they all left, thinking that he wanted to be alone to digest it all. After all, hearing that you had only three to six months left wasn't something trivial.

He had to admit that pondering on your own death that had suddenly come a whole lot closer was a bit frightening. But somewhere along the road he had already acquiesced in the fact that he would die sooner or later. The fact that it had become sooner was what bothered him, though.

How would he tell his family? His friends, those kids at school?

How would he tell Kurenai?

He knew that him being sick ate her from the inside. She always put up a brave front when being with him, always playing the strong woman in his vicinity. The only time he had witnessed her breaking down, he realized with slight guilt, was when she had caught him with a cigarette after receiving the news that his lungs were poisoned by the killer called nicotine. That seemed so long ago now, although it had just occurred a few months ago.

-

_He sat there in the dark silence of the night, all alone on a bench in the park where he used to take his morning strolls. He guessed that that would have to stay on hold from tomorrow on, as they were currently making room for him in the hospital on the oncology section. They would begin treatment as soon as possible, they had told him, to save whatever was left of his breathing organs. Somehow he was slightly skeptical after seeing the CT scans, but he didn't want to ruin their humanistic ideals as saving lives was their job. _

_Kurenai had been with him that afternoon. She had been more nervous than him while waiting for Dr Yamamoto's return with the test results, and as they sat there in the spacious office she had squeezed his hand tightly, but he knew that it was more of an inadvertent gesture in her nervousness than an attempt to soothe him._

_His fingers were at the point of becoming blood-deprived when the door had opened but he let it be as he focused on Dr Yamamoto, who went to sit down behind his desk quite uncomfortably. His smile hadn't reached his eyes when he looked at Kurenai in a pitiful manner for a moment, but then directed his attention towards the patient in question. _

"_Sarutobi-san."_

_He had nodded. Dr Yamamoto continued, hesitating slightly as if choosing his words carefully. "I have the diagnosis of your biopsy right here," he had gestured towards the files that were neatly placed in front of him, "-and I'm afraid that it isn't looking well." He opened one of the folders, taking a couple of CT shots out of it and placing them in front of the both of them. "It is lung cancer, already in a further stadium than we originally had assessed." Beside him, he could hear Kurenai choke in her fight to keep the tears at bay. He felt her fingers tremble around his and squeezed her hand slightly, before taking a closer look at the photos._

_He still remembered the utter silence in his head upon seeing the destruction site what had once been healthy lungs. His blood had began to rush through his veins, soughing loudly in his ears and pounding against his temples to the point it felt like drum rolls. He realized it was his own heart that was beating so fast. He realized that it were his own fingers that were trembling so much. He realized that it were his own lungs that he was staring at right now. _

_So it wasn't looking well._

_Not looking well._

_His hand had let go of Kurenai's fingers and reached upwards in an unintentional movement, raking through his dark hair while his eyes had continued to look dazedly at the photos. His heartbeat wouldn't slow down. _

_Not looking well._

_He didn't exactly remember what had happened after that. Kurenai had taken notes teary-eyed as to what the exact procedure would be for the near future and had nodded as Dr Yamamoto pleaded for an immediate hospitalization, as treatment in this stage would have to be applied a.s.a.p. and the first session was going to be a severe one. He hadn't missed the fatalistic undertone even in his dazed state. _

_They had left the room quietly, Dr Yamamoto walking behind them as a white, constant shadow of death as he had led them towards the exit, wishing them both the best as they reached the doors. Outside everything had suddenly looked different somehow. The birds were chirping and the cars around them honking, school girls were giggling out loud and people were just walking past them as they were all strangers to each other. The outside world was moving on as if nothing had happened. __**His**__ world had suddenly stopped, frozen in time, and his mind had continued to maul over the words of Dr Yamamoto._

_The drive home had been silent, save for Kurenai's occasional soft sobs as she would desperately try to fight them back, every now and then casting a fearful look at him as if she was scared that he would fall apart any second. _

_He didn't._

_He was just far away. _

_Even now, sitting in the park while the nightly wind breezed past him, the silence in his head was roaring, and the cigarettes in the pocket of his coat burned. His stiff fingers reached inside and automatically grabbed one out of the package, stuffing it between his lips and immediately after that rummaging almost desperately through his other pocket in search for the lighter. _

_He just really had to smoke, just one, just one. It felt as if the silence was talking back at him._

_Lighter fallen somewhere beside his feet, the tip of the cigarette lit up in the darkness and he inhaled very deeply and let the smoke tingle his insides as the white silence was driven away bit by bit. He closed his eyes and leaned back, finally calming down a little._

_It wasn't looking too well. _

_He absent-mindedly wondered if those damn kids had done their homework. Chemical equation was a difficult subject. But he would pull them through. Just as he would pull himself through this shit… _

"_Asuma?!"_

_The cigarette was suddenly whisked away. His cheek was suddenly burning. She was suddenly right there, in tears._

_She was screaming at him and crying over the cigarette. Over Dr Yamamoto's pitiful glance of which he had meant it to be comforting. She was crying over him. _

_He had put an arm around her shoulders as she flopped down next to him and continued to wail hysterically, in one flaring movement throwing the remains of his cigarette into the dark. Only he watched the smoldering ends slowly fade out. _

-

**End Of Lesson Nr. VII**

*** * * **

**A/N: **Hi guys. (*,*)/ Guwah, I'm really sorry for another long wait. I tried to make it a bit longer this time, as a peace-offering… First of all, a huge thank-you to all reviewers!! Seriously, I love you (platonically speaking, of course XD) for taking the time to comment, it really keeps me motivated.

Secondly, a few words about the last part of this chapter. A few months ago, we received the news that my uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer. It had been a huge shock, especially the fact that there is a very, very small chance of him surviving it. As of now, the cancer's spread out to his head and we're not sure how much time he has left. Chemotherapy has successfully restored his eyesight (temporarily), but the future is very uncertain. I thought that this was the right time to let Asuma tell a bit about his story, kind of as a tribute to my uncle, I hope it's okay since it's a bit distracting from the actual story.. n.n;

Thirdly, maybe there the whole Hinata-remembers episode was a little vague. She does indeed always have the actual event in the back of her head, as you probably have read in previous chapters, but apparently there was something with Gaara, who was involved, that had made her push his persona from her memory as it had been too traumatic for her. What exactly has happened, I'll leave it in the shadows for now, but feel free to voice out your thoughts. :3

Lastly, exams are over as of now (Thank. F—ing. God.), but as I am in my senior year, final exams are coming up in a month. -goes set up underground shelter- I hope to get chapter 8 out before that, but I can't promise anything as I don't want to disappoint you guys. …But fear not, I've got a whoooole lot of vacation after that. :3


	8. Lesson nr VIII

_**Hetze**_

*** * ***

**Lesson nr. VIII**

Inuzuka Kiba slowly walked down the aisle as the bell had went off a little while ago, just wondering around with his hands stuffed into his pockets as he pushed himself through the masses of students. His dark-brown eyes were looking ahead, but his thoughts were somewhere else.

He really wondered if he should go and talk with Kurenai-sensei about the problems her foster child was currently having. She probably knew nothing of it, as Hinata would rather bite her tongue off than bother someone with her troubles, especially now that Kurenai herself was dealing with some heavy stuff. Hinata always thought she could take care of it herself, no one else should have to be troubled with it.

The fact that she was too sweet for her own good wasn't even the main part of his worries. It was the fact that it wasn't solely kindness, but her locking herself away from the people around her as well. Being betrayed by loved ones several times, she had unconsciously built a wall around her tiny form in order to protect herself from other harm.

It was that wall that occupied most of his thoughts as it was getting bigger and bigger with every step Sasuke took into her direction, driving her into a corner all the time and driving her away from people who really meant well.

He wanted to help her.

He wanted to be the one to tear that wall down.

But he realized that he wasn't the right person to do that. Only Hinata herself was able to break the wall around her, she was the only one who could help herself. The only thing **he **could do, was to support her in that, reaching a hand out to her while she dragged herself out of the dark well.

He realized that it was Hinata herself who would have to tell Kurenai of her problems. He realized that well enough.

But as he thought at her silent form back in class, looking ready to sink away into shadows, he also realized that it would be very difficult for him to wait until Hinata finally saw that she was only helping herself further into a bottomless pit.

He stopped walking when he got to the vending machine, where someone else was currently getting himself a cup of coffee or two.

Yes, it was going to be very difficult to stay silent when he had the words ready for so long already.

*** * * **

She stayed where she was after the bell had rung, looking at her classmates who left the classroom while chattering happily from the corner of her eye, Kiba's back slowly disappearing into the crowd.

She had seen his slightly hunched form and wondered what he was thinking about. She would ask him later.

Later.

After the talk with the one person Sasuke had forbidden her to speak with. She wondered how angry he would be when he found out.

Ino had slightly squeezed her shoulder, telling her that they all would be waiting on the usual spot should the chat end before break had.

After all the other students were gone, leaving only silence behind, Hinata turned her eyes away from her table and looked as her new teacher suddenly stood up from behind his desk and walked over to her. She sank farther away into her seat in fear for the harsh words that were surely going to fall, as she had behaved really badly this period. What would he think of her now? Was he angry with her? He probably was. Had she been in shoes, she would be, probably. She only hoped he wouldn't tell Kurenai-sens—

"Do you want some coffee as well? I'm gonna get some, so just say it if you want some too, hmm."

Hinata was so taken aback at his question that she didn't saw him slightly scrutinizing her. Here she was, thinking about what kind of extra work he would surely give her. She lightly smiled about what a scaredy-cat she was.

At his slight cough however, she realized she hadn't given an answer and quickly nodded, feeling a bit stupid. "Eh-uhm, y-yes, I would like s-some coffee, p-please." It was when she said it that she realized that she actually preferred tea over coffee, but didn't say it out loud; she would look like an idiot that couldn't decide for herself. Coffee would be fine, coffee wasn't too bad.

He only nodded at her and walked out of the classroom, leaving her with her thoughts and fears. As soon as her chemistry teacher had walked past the room she went to stand next to the door, where no windows had been built in and where Sasuke wouldn't see her from the hallway, if he would be looking for her here.

She felt really paranoid but his words from that morning had never left her thoughts, ghosts of memories haunting her vaguely as most were still unclear; thanks to her suppressing them for so long, they had become inconsistent, like a hundred ghost ships floating on the sea that was called her mind.

The one memory that had become clear and had hit her with the force of lightning though, was_ his_ face. _His_ name_. His_ voice. _His_ eyes full of an emotion that she had never seen in him before, just before they closed.

_His_ body lying there.

While the whole event enrolled itself before her eyes yet again the knot in her stomach became so heavy and pressing that she felt the need to puke. Smacking a hand in front of her mouth she tried to calm herself down, but the whole classroom seemed to spin suddenly and the screaming in her head made her want to cry.

And then there was that hand on her shoulder, that hand that felt warm and strong, and a voice.

"You alright, hmm?"

She looked up. Her teacher was standing there, looking at her with a bit of a worried look in his eyes. Her mind went completely still for a moment, and she vaguely nodded. The hand on her shoulder softly pushed her towards a chair. "Sit down. Sit down for a bit, hmm."

She did as she was told. His hand left her shoulder and he went to sit in the chair opposite of her, placing two plastic cups that he had held with one hand on the table in-between them. The place were his hand had been suddenly felt cold.

He coughed. She carefully looked up. He gestured to the cup on the table that was left over, he himself nonchalantly sipping from his fourth cup of coffee that hour. She silently wondered if he was a caffeine-addict as she nodded her head in gratitude and grabbed what was she assumed was coffee, before looking down in surprise when she smelled something else.

"There wasn't any coffee left so I got us tea, hmm," the blonde simply said.

She only nodded again and lifted the cup to her lips, but didn't drink it yet; it was an old habit of her to have something in front of her face, be it her hands or something else. She smiled a little while savoring the smell and the warmth of the tea.

Her teacher leaned back in his comfortable chair and took another sip at the same time she did before he placed the cup on his desk, looking at her for a little while.

"You feeling better now?"

"Yes, th-thank you, sensei." She really did feel better, the aroma of the tea had calmed her senses a bit and she could think more clearly now. The nausea had faded as fast as it had hit her.

He didn't ask any further and for a while they sat there in silence, she sipping from her tea and he thinking. It wasn't one of those uncomfortable silences, but a serene one as outside the birds were chirping and you could hear the rumor of students talking as they were eating lunch outside underneath the Sakura trees, since it was a warm day.

Deidara threw a glance out of the window when particular loud giggling of a couple of girls was heard before he directed himself towards Hinata again and opened his mouth.

"You aren't doing drugs, are you?"

She almost choked on her tea and coughed, before awkwardly swallowing the hot liquor and looking up at him with teary eyes from the sudden heat that passed her throat.

"D-Doing dr..? N-N-NO, I'm—"

"As a teacher, I need to warn you for the dangers of the outer world! Drugs are bad, hmm."

"I-I'm not using a-any drugs..!"

"Alright, alright. Don't worry, I believe you." He winked at her. "Didn't think of you as a junkie to begin with, but I needed to ask just in case, hmm. Standard procedure, y'know." He was bluffing and both knew it. It made her smile.

"Glad to see that smile is back." She looked up, surprised, and he quickly changed the subject before she could inquire him any further. "Hyuga-san, do you detest Chemistry?"

"D-Detest chemistry?" She paused, thinking about the second surprising question of that day in silence before answering him silently. "N-No, I-I don't detest it. I'm just n-not very good with numbers, and.." She stopped herself again, looking up at him in horror. "D-D-Did I g-give that impression?" She suddenly realized that she had probably given off a very uninterested air as she hadn't been paying attention and hadn't even known the answer to any of his questions. She gasped in abhorrence when he stayed silent, assuming he meant exactly that. "Oh, I-I-I am so s-sorry sensei, I-I mean I don't hate your s-subject or a-anything but I—"

He stopped her with one hand, slightly smirking at her helpless expression. "Don't worry, you didn't give me that impression, hmm. Besides," he handed her a paper on which something was scribbled in a handwriting that she knew very well. "—Asuma-san already left me a note to inform me about you, hmm. I was just kidding." His smile grew bigger upon seeing the horror of being joked around with grow on her face.

"Th-That's mean, s-sensei.. Asking a-all those questions.."

Now it was his turn to be surprised at her pouting face, and after a second of silence he burst out laughing. Seeing her rising irritation he only had to laugh louder. When calmed down he wiped a few tears away. "Haa— Sorry, but you looked so gullible that I couldn't help myself, hmm." He leaned forward and reached over the table, giving her a pat on the head.

Her irritation was swept away immediately as she slightly blushed at the gesture and looked away. She really couldn't get his train of thoughts, and she caught herself thinking about what he was thinking about. She wanted to understand this man and his strange antics.

"Asuma-san. You know him better than most of your classmates do, right?"

The question and the tension that came with it caught her off-guard. His voice had turned serious and she slightly nodded, not trusting her own voice enough as tears had hit her suddenly and very heavily. He just sighed. "Alright… I'm sorry I teased you, hmm. Don't you worry, I'm gonna help you as much as I can."

She slightly smiled through her sadness and nodded. "T-Thank you, sensei."

He nodded. "Yeah, well... You can go now, hmm. Just—" He stopped himself before he could ask about her boyfriend. He didn't want to give the impression of being a nosy teacher. He saw that she was patiently waiting for him to continue and he shook his head. "Nothing, hmm. You just go now, and I'll see you in two days."

Her chemistry teacher looked as she hastily stood up from her chair, bowed at him and quickly got her bag before running out of the classroom.

*** * ***

Closing the door behind him Deidara walked towards the vending machine in a relaxed manner, taking his time as he thought about the Hyuga girl.

He had already noticed the sadness she seemed to be engulfed by, and it stung him to see. He wondered what had happened to the girl for her to look that way, a manner he recognized only in people who had been through a lot. He knew, because he had seen that look all the time when he was a kid.

Halting before the vending machine he rummaged through his pockets to grab some coins and pushed them in before searching the button for coffee when he heard a voice behind him.

"Are you really that nervous sensei, taking so much coffee?"

The blonde turned around with two cups in his hands to meet with that kid from his class, Inuzuka or something. He grinned back. "This is for me and my date, Inuzuka. Nothing for you to worry about, hmm."

The boy turned red at his words as he knew very well who his teacher meant by that and his hands balled into fists, invisible for the eye because they were still hidden in his pockets. The other smirked at this. "Relax, I was joking, eh."

"Yeah, whatever." The boy was still blushing a bit as he looked away, before he realized that he was talking to a teacher and quickly tried to amend his mistake. "Err, what I wanted to ask was, if you could spare Hinata a bit. Please," he added as an after-thought.

The other raised an eyebrow. "Spare her? What do you mean? You think I'm going to give her a week of detention or somethin'? Don't worry Inuzuka, I won't be that mean, hmm."

The dark-haired boy shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Sir." His brown eyes were looking at him in a piercing way, showing that he was quite serious about the matter. "What I meant was, please be careful with her, sensei. With what you say. Around her. She's not made of glass or somethin', but she's been through a lot. Still is." His eyes darkened and he stayed quiet for a moment before he continued. "Most here know about it, but I thought I should tell you."

Deidara wondered what he meant with that. "What? Problems at home or something? Her boyfriend's beating her?"

The meaningful look he was giving didn't go unnoticed and dark eyes narrowed. "I'm not the right person to tell you about that. You'll know soon enough, sensei."

Hn. Seemed like that familiar-looking kid was quite the big boy around here. Tsch, what a bother.

"Anyway." Deidara looked as the kid tried to flow into another subject in a semi-casual way. "You know about Asuma-sensei's situation, right?" When he was answered with a nod he continued. "Hinata's the foster daughter of his girlfriend, Kurenai-sensei. She's a teacher here as well."

Deidara didn't say anything as he remembered the tired-looking woman from before.

Yūhi Kurenai.

Ahh. So, that's how it was.

Asuma-san's girlfriend.

Well, that explained the peculiar revulsion for cigarettes, all right.

"That's about it. The rest you'll find out soon enough." Inuzuka Kiba was already walking away as he turned around for a moment. "Oh, 'nother thing, sensei." He looked meaningfully at the two cups of coffee the blonde was still holding in his hands before he glanced his way.

"Hinata likes tea."

*** * * **

He glanced at the group of people around a table at the other end of the cafeteria, coal-black eyes searching for the one person that he wanted to see but who wasn't there. His agitation grew with every second she didn't appear in his sight and he thought about going and looking for her, but she was probably somewhere in the library; most probably still hiding from him, he realized with a slight grimace.

As he detested the smell of moldy old books and wanted to give her some time to think about what he had said as well, he continued to eat his lunch. He would find her later on; she knew very well he loved her so she would forgive him for using such harsh words. She always did.

If not, he only needed to let her realize again who had been the one to save her and her family from scandal.

*** * ***

White eyes carefully looked around to see if there wasn't a certain someone with a handsome face but a snake-like air surrounding him around, and as soon as she saw that the coast was clear she quickly walked towards the cafeteria; Sasuke would leave her alone most of the time when she was with her friends.

She pushed her way through groups of students who had already finished their lunch and were talking animatedly to each other, not paying attention to the small girl who was trying to reach the cafeteria. She had almost made it to the entry when a hand suddenly yanked her away. Scared that it was Sasuke she gave a slight yelp and spun around, only to meet with the ash-grey countenance of her Homeroom teacher and caretaker.

"Hinata." Kurenai looked sickly pale and the skin around her eyes were smudged by tears mixed with mascara, but it was the look she had in them that scared Hinata the most. Disbelief together with abhorrence were swimming in her red orbs, and the girl thought that her teacher looked ready to pass out.

"I need to go to the hospital right now. It's Asuma."

Hinata slightly nodded, too scared to really say anything yet. Kurenai gave her a watery smile that didn't reach her eyes and patted her lightly on the shoulder. The girl could feel the trembling of her warm hands through the fabric of her uniform.

"I most probably won't be coming home tonight, but you'll take good care of yourself, right? And if not, you'll call me, okay?" Again, she nodded, this time speaking up. "I will.. But p-promise me you take good c-care of yourself as well, K-Kurenai-san."

The older woman gave her a tight hug before wiping the tears away with a napkin and smiling again. Hinata thought that she didn't need to try her best at smiling when she was obviously in so much despair, but realized that was what she herself always did as well when trying to comfort people. So she only said her goodbyes in a soft voice and watched as Kurenai-sensei was taken away by Umino-sensei towards the exit, she slightly waving at her and he giving her a wink before both turned the corner and were gone from her sight.

Other people glanced at her in their passing-by as she just stayed where she was, looking dazedly to where Kurenai-san had disappeared.

The headache was back again.

-

**End Of Lesson Nr. VIII**

*** * ***

**A/N: **I graduated. 8D ZOMG, I'm actually finished with High School! That means no more Math, no more Latin, and no more Physics. \(*,*)/ Hell yeah.

Thank you all for the reviews, especially those of you who showed your support for my uncle and wished him well. That was really sweet and for that you all have my gratitude! n_n He's in a so-so situation right now, not feeling exactly at his best, but not horrible either. It's difficult since they don't exactly know how long he still has, but until that day comes we continue to hope for the best.

As for this chapter… well, nothing much, except for moar DeiXHina quality time, sorry.. u_u; Sasuke's being the possessive a**hole, as always, but please pay attention to what he said (no, not that he doesn't like old books), since it's going to play an important role in the rest of this story.

I know that things aren't going very fast, but I didn't want to make it a story in which the two main characters fall in love at first sight (well, alright, alright. I meant, "_don't take it to the next level in the first chapter."_ xD) and the rest of the chapters an "**Oh! My darrrling, I miss you so much that I'm afraid my heart will explode the seconds you're not here, in my arms." "I know my dearest, I cannot **_**stand**_** not being near you. Now, kiss me.**" story.

… *has read too much Jane Austen*

Anyways. I'll be hopefully seeing you in chapter nine. ;)


	9. Lesson nr IX

_**Hetze**_

*** * ***

_**Warning; **__attempted rape. Nothing too graphic, but just in case. Wouldn't want to traumatize anyone._

**-**

**Lesson nr. IX**

"_You have now arrived at the second floor. Please be careful on your way out and have a nice day."_

The doors slid open in one fluid movement and the air conditioner hit her face as she stepped out of the elevator, the pressing heat becoming noticeable as soon as she had taken another step. It was a very hot afternoon and it didn't do her attacks of sudden nausea any good. Using some test papers she had found in her bag as a fan, Kurenai walked over at the hallway almost at her direct left.

Asuma was moved to another room, at the Intensive Care. But the IC and the heat and her strange illness and everything else didn't matter now. She pushed her tears away and forced herself to be a little stronger.

She had to be stronger, or she wouldn't get through this. She wouldn't get Asuma through this.

The door of room 2021 was already open. Quickly pushing her way through, her red eyes frantically searched for the one man she longed to see and at the same time couldn't bare to meet. She halted in the doorway when she saw his form, tubes and monitors surrounding him like an eerie forest.

"Asuma?" He didn't move at the sound of her voice. His back was facing her and she wanted to run at him but before she could stretch a hand out he grumbled a "yeah."

Kurenai walked around the bed and went to sit at the side where his face was turned to. He didn't turn away from her but didn't answer her questioning him about his well-being either, and for a while they were engulfed in silence. She stared at the corny 'get well soon'-cards above his bed and suspected that some had been hanging there for a while now. There were no other patients in this room and even though she had left the door open the sounds of the rest of the hospital didn't seem to reach them. She had never felt more alone.

When she opened her lips to say something he suddenly spoke. "I don't want to talk about it. Not right now." His eyes stayed closed and his voice sounded very, very tired.

She closed her mouth again. He didn't want to talk about it. _He didn't want to talk about it._ Well, what more could she say then? What more was there to talk about? 'Anything else' didn't matter anymore, 'anything else' didn't exist anymore,_ because he would be dead soon_. She wanted to scream those things at him.

Apparently Asuma felt her frustration. He opened his eyelids and looked at her, eyes a little dazed from all the morphine. "Talk to me. About everything. Everything but that."

She stayed silent for a while, letting her anger seep away into a dark, closed-off part of her mind. She shouldn't let herself go like that. Not now. Not when he needed her.

"…Kakashi is dating Anko." Surprised at the happy tone she could apparently still muster she forgot the heavy pressure for a moment when she thought back at Anko hitting her new plaything on the head when he announced their getting-together in the teacher's lounge.

"Ah, really? Kakashi has finally succeeded in his stalking efforts, then." A weak smiled played on his lips. He really seemed tired. Lifeless. She wanted to tear all those tubes and strings and IVs out of him and shake some life back into him. She wanted to yell out her frustrations.

But she just talked about this and that, and sometimes he would answer this and that, and they continued to play this little game until it was already dark for a long time, and for a little while they could pretend that nothing was wrong.

And then he called her name. He had turned his face away from her so that she couldn't look at him and he wouldn't need to look at her while he weakly said her name.

Immediately she felt that there was something different but didn't want to break this happy illusion yet, she wanted it to continue for a little while longer because she knew that the pressure would hit her harder that it could have done before.

"…And Hinata is doing pretty well at scho—"

"_Kurenai_."

"Ah, yes?" It was too late.

"Could you… leave? Please."

It was too late.

*** * ***

The tea was still hot so she lowered her hands again, placing the mug on the glass table. White eyes stared at the wall in front of them, not really looking but sunken away in deep thought.

It was past ten o'clock already and her homework had been finished a long time ago, so she couldn't escape to the world of Renaissance painters, water-balance and even y-axes anymore.

And so she just sat, her nails ticking rhythmically on the glass surface of the table plate, thinking and not trying to think about _that_, and finally she couldn't take it anymore.

The cup of tea was still standing on the table when the sound of a closing door echoed throughout the empty house.

*** * ***

For a single second, the shock from his sudden question had frozen her face, the seemingly carefree expression still there but wide eyes as a clear indication that something was wrong as well. Soon enough though, her countenance changed and he found it almost too painful to even feel that fake smile that she would surely use to hide her pain. He wanted to take his words back when she stayed silent but realized that the damage was already done.

"Of course. See you later then."

She didn't ask him why.

She didn't get angry at him.

She didn't give him a goodbye-kiss when she left.

Perhaps it was all for the best.

*** * ***

The beating music was pounding so loudly in his ears that he couldn't even hear it right; not that it mattered, it was one of those crappy hip hop tracks which he never paid much attention but as it was the shit right now, everyone loved it.

He took a sip from his vodka and glanced around with a disinterested look in his dark eyes. His friends had left him alone a long time ago; they already knew he wasn't interested in finding and catching the biggest fish in the sea of teenage hormones, _not right now, and not with any of those whores around here, _and had went to find smaller, still-good-looking fishes themselves. A girl went to sit in the chair next to him and attempted to start a conversation; he didn't look at her but he could feel the longing looks she sent him, smiling and pouting cutely when he didn't answer. After a little while, the pout changed into a grimace of frustration when he still hadn't talked back to her, let alone spared her as much as a glance. It didn't take long after that for her to turn her back to him and going for the guy on her left, playing the game all over again.

All around him the bodies were moving against each other closely, dancing and smiling and drinking, all of them having the time of their life. A couple a bit further away was making out, not caring that they were on the middle of the dance floor and that some girls were pointing and giggling.

On his left, a couple of drunk guys tried to hit on a group of skimpy-clothed girls but had no success as they walked away from them, laughing loudly with each other at the pathetic attempt. He didn't hear it over the music, but he could see their lips moving, all of them having a thick layer of pink, glittery lip gloss. It was too much, as everything around him was too much. It was like a teenage jungle in which only being cool and hot enough counted as a rule. If you weren't, or at least didn't wear the right camouflage colors to cover yourself, you would fall prey to the cruel predators of this superficial world sooner or later.

_Disgusting_.

Sasuke suddenly had the urge to smile at his own hypocrisy. Here he was, calling life around him disgusting and yet engulfing himself in it until his head disappeared under the surface.

Hinata was his fresh breath of air after he would resurface again.

*** * * **

Even though it had been a very hot afternoon the air was much more chilly now, and she wished she had brought a coat with her as she shivered in her thin tank top at the touch of the slight breeze that passed her.

Cars honked to each other far away and her eyes followed a dancing leaf upwards. She glanced at the Sakura trees that looked hauntingly beautiful in the moonlight, bent over towards the paved road she was walking on and forming a hedgerow. A lantern above her head was flickering on and off and gave the park an eerie feeling as not many people were around here at this hour, but it didn't really matter. The park was a safe harbor to her, as she used to come here a long time ago with her mother whom had been still alive then. Though it had been much further away from her house at that time than the condo where she now lived with Kurenai-sensei, this park had always been their favorite for that very reason.

It had been far away from their house. It had been out of reach for their over-bearing husband, father and family. She had loved it then as it had given her a refuge, and she loved it now.

Nothing could change that.

*** * ***

The people that were passing by shot a look at that strange woman sitting there on the bench all by herself with as much as four XXL Caramel Frappuccino® cups from the local Starbucks standing beside her, but she didn't care as she took a sip from the fifth one.

The sweet liquor passed her throat and she dryly considered the thought of drowning herself in it for a second, but decided against it as it probably wouldn't make a very good advertisement for her favorite coffee chain store.

For now, it would suffice to drown her thoughts in it.

*** * ***

She hadn't seen them. But they had seen her.

His large hand had been there before she realized it and she was suddenly caught in a pair of arms that kept her in a very strong hold. Too strong.

"Aww, look what I caught, guys. A cute little chick wanderin' all alone without mamma chicken around." The smell of alcohol hit her and the guffawing of the persons around her rung in her ears. The glimmering of a leaden pipe that one of them held in his hands caught her eye and her legs began to tremble. _What did they want with her? Why here? Not here, not here. _

"You always get the cutest ones, dude. Let's share for a change." The guy that was standing closest to them suddenly locked eyes with her, and even in the dark Hinata could see the lustful look shining through the haze of drunkenness. There were four of them and they seemed young, perhaps a few years older than her. She recognized one of them as a senior from her school, and then it dawned upon her who she was dealing with here.

They were well-known in this area for making problems, and though most people tried to put it off as youth casting problems on society once again, most knew that it wasn't just boyish troublemaking. They were different from any of her male classmates. They were even different from Sasuke, though he had the same threatening presence; the difference was that the latter covered it with a thick layer of apathy, and these guys hid it underneath a lightheartedness to earn misplaced trust.

Even Sasuke wouldn't be perfidious enough to use frivolous words to lure her in. There was a certain kind of sincerity in what he said most of the time, though she would never admit that to herself.

But these men, they were very different. They all seemed so playful but underneath the surface there was a growing sense of something dangerous brewing.

"I-I-I have to g-go ho-home." Her voice had raised a few octaves in her panic and they could smell it on her as if they were hunting dogs, ready to pounce in on a caught rabbit.

She began to struggle, but this only earned her a painful tug on the arms and loud laughter from the others. "Now now, dun' push my buttons, baby. Let's go to someplace fun, eh? What do ya say?" His mouth was suddenly very close to her ear and she shivered as his stinking breath stroked her cheek together with his caressing fingers.

"—How 'bout you willingly go with us. Or do I hafta use… more persuading methods..?"

The words whispered to her didn't sound drunk at all, and after the flickering of something metallic in the on-and-off light of the broken lantern suddenly caught her attention the girl began to see that she was in an even more dangerous situation than she had originally thought. Tears filled her eyes. _She had to get out, this guy was a predator, she had to get out of there __**now**__. _

"P-Please, I d-don't want t—"

"'_You don't want to go to a hotel'? _Hear that, guys! She says _that she wants to do it here_._" _The coldness washed over her limbs in waves of utter horror as she realized what they were about to do with her and she opened her mouth but before any sound could come out the guy holding her clasped his fingers over her mouth painfully, dark eyes gleaming devilishly in the pale light of the moon. "Not a word, honey. Or we won' be a nice as we are right now." The hand that held the butterfly knife slowly descended towards her more private areas and she could hear his breathing pattern quicken from the excitement of hunting, making her own heart thumping loudly in her ears from anxiety.

Loud cheering. Labored breathing as faces came close and went by again in a haze of suffocating fear.

Voices telling her that _it wouldn't hurt if she just cooperated_.

Hands. Hands everywhere.

Screaming.

It was her own screaming.

As she could hear the tearing of her clothes mixing with her screams and as she could feel the coldness washing over her mixing with the sudden sensation of stinging pain of a cut drawn down her cheek, she was suddenly on the ground and one of the boys was suddenly on top of her, his weight holding her down and almost suffocating her, his hands touching and roughly groping her bare breasts and _she felt so very ripped apart. _Her throat felt as if a snake had coiled its slithering body around it, trapping her voice deep inside of her.

His tongue darted out, she could see his saliva glimmering in the moonlight, before he licked her salty tears away. She shuddered under his touch and tried to turn her face away, but he got a hold of her and forced her to turn back at him. Screams erupted from the deepest pits of her soul but this time they actually came out again, and she continued to scream until a fist made an end to it.

"Don't yell so much, you lil' bitch. Hurts my fuckin' ears."

This made his intoxicated friends laugh loudly but she barely heard halve of what he said as stars danced before her eyes and her head fell back harshly onto the pavement. Pain shot through her whole body as blood began to stream down her face, numbing, vertiginous pain, and she let out a soft 'ahh' before staring up at the sky for a dazed second.

There were so many stars visible tonight. No smog, no clouds, just… stars. So many of them.

She continued to stare up at the nightly sky in wonderment until tugging at her pants brought her back to reality and when her glazed eyes slowly turned she could see the dark silhouette loom over the man who smiled at her. "This won't hurt."

"**But this will**."

Hinata coughed as the heavy weight was suddenly lifted off her and the wondering hands were suddenly gone. The cold had never felt so welcome.

Shooting up she heaved, bile and fear building up in her throat before she turned to her right and threw it all up, the sickening splattering of puke mixed with blood hitting the ground next to her. She gazed at it before she fell back again, stench invading her nostrils and her irregular breathing sounding heavy but not overcoming the sound of cursing and kicking and hitting and gurgled pleas near her. She gingerly touched her nose, her lips, her cheek, flinching before her arm fell back, next to her shivering body. She looked up at the sky again, frozen, with wide eyes void of any tears as the shock had not worn off yet.

And then, he was there.

Warmth suddenly covered her trembling limbs and her view was obscured by a face surrounded with blond hair, blond hair that she knew so very well by know. His breathing sounded just as heavy as hers, and his hands felt very warm and sticky on her face. She leaned in his touch and her eyes closed, savoring the feeling of being safe.

"…You… alright, hmm?"

She slightly nodded, and suddenly she was lifted up in a sitting position but allowed to lean against him. She was still nodding when his arms carefully put the coat more around her form and her head was smarting, and only when a frown appeared on her face and tears began to stream down, she stopped herself from nodding.

"S'alright, cry it out, eh."

Soon, her wailing echoed through the park. Even after the wailing had subdued into sobbing and when there were almost no more tears left, he still held her and she clasped his arm as if it were her personal life-buoy. She just continued crying over the loss of what she had felt to be one of the last of her safe havens.

But as he had wrapped his arms around her and was now rocking her in his tight embrace, she realized that perhaps she had found a new one in its place.

**-**

**End Of Lesson Nr. IX**

*** * ***

**A/N: **Gahh, I feel so… _mean_ for writing this. D: And I'm not at all satisfied with the way this chapter went, but I couldn't exactly pin-point what it was and as for Hinata being attacked… well, that just had to happen for a further flow of events. Sorry, Hina. T-T

Anyways, as always a huge Thank-you to all of you who reviewed, read and/or simply enjoyed the story; without you I probably wouldn't be half as motivated, as bad as it sounds. 82 Reviews, that's… wahh, I'm happy. :D

Err, I'll be away for a little while, first off because I'm going to Berlin (what a great city, by the way. I wouldn't mind living there) and then because I'll be going to university as of the first of September, so first I need to survive getting up (very) early again and finding the right classes before I can continue. But fear not, my grammar is about to get a whole lot better, as I'm going to study English Language and Culture. :D Woooh. Wish me luck~


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